What on Earth is this?

[Lionheart]

Hey all,

While touring over Arizona in FSX (new MegaEarthScenery Arizona package), I discovered this thing in Northern Arizona near Lake Mary, just North of Mormon Lake.

Tonight, I located the same object / fascility on Google Earth.

I would be interested to know what on Earth it is.

Some idea's.
* Laser collider?
* Some odd crust research station (crust of Earth, pinging station?)
* Odd drilling location? (wouldnt make sense)


Very interesting looking 'thing', what ever it is....



Bill

 

[Lionus]

Obviously,

 

[PRB]

What's at the ends of the three paths? I canna tell from the photos. Mayhap a radio telescope? Interferometer type?

 

[brad kaste]

No doubt in my mind,...it's a Peruvian Nazca line drawing of a Muscovy duck......

 

[Snuffy]

Well at least you got its location right this time ... it is on earth ... unlike that space craft thing you posted about the other day that was otherworldly and not of this earth.

 

[PRB]

Well, the question is: Why would you place three "things" far away from each other, at the ends of an equalateral triangle? Or, another way to look at it, on three points of a circle, spaced equally apart. I'll bet there's radio energy involved somehwere.

 

[warepj]

Lowell Observatory, Anderson Mesa Station (IAU code 688) was established in 1959 as a dark-sky observing site for Lowell Observatory. Anderson Mesa is now home to several large reflecting telescopes that are used for observing programs such as LONEOS. The site is located about 12 miles southeast of Lowell's main campus on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona.

 

[warepj]

What on Earth is this

Specifically, the three-legged thing is the NPOI. The NPOI is an optical astronomical interferometer with a notably large maximum baseline. It is a Y configuration of three 50 cm optical siderostats. The inner fixed stations are used for astrometry while stations on the outer arms, out to an eventual separation of more than 300 m, are used for imaging stars. The stations are connected by vacuum beam lines. Fast delay lines in the main control building and long delay lines outside are used to adjust the optical phases to allow coherent combinations of up to six siderostats. Used for astrometry and astronomical imaging, the NPOI is a distributed aperture optical telescope. It is operated for astrometry by the USNO. Research into optical imaging and astronomical research is conducted by the NRL.
Funding for the NPOI was initiated by the Oceanographer of the Navy and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1989. Design work began on all phases of the project. After approximately a year and a half, the initial phase of construction was completed in early 1994. This included the concrete piers to hold the siderostats, beam compressors, elevator cans and center feed cans for the imaging and astrometric arrays, the control and lab buildings and the astrometric huts. The East arm feed pipe installation was completed by December 1998.

 

[PRB]

Thanks, warepj.
:ernae:

 

[Lionheart]

Thanks warepj


Pretty cool..

You have to admit, the thing is very wild looking.



Bill

 

[CG_1976]

Nice area for research south of Prime Lake.

 

[Cazzie]

A little more on the NPOI at Anderson Mesa Bill: http://www.nofs.navy.mil/projects/npoi/

Caz

 

[noddy]

I thought it was the drive in theater base for the laser from Spies Like Us!

 

[Bjoern]

Assembly spot of the biggest windmill ever built?

 

[Lionheart]

Landing pad for a TR-3A?


:d

 

[GT182]

Landing pad for a TR-3A?


:d

There ya go Bill. I knew you had the answer all a long. :d

 

[MCDesigns]

Assembly spot of the biggest windmill ever built?

LMAO!

Amazing the things you find cruising around the earth in google. I stumbled on some cool Mig interceptor bases in old Russia the other day, ones that did not show up on any map I could find.