Stockert Radio Telescope

• Name — Stockert Radio Telescope • Location — Bad Münstereifel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany • Established — 1956 • Closed — 1995, re-opened 2010 • Website — http: www.astropeiler.de • Telescope1 Name — "Astropeiler" radio telescope • Telescope1 Type — parabolic reflector, 25 m aperture • Telescope2 Name — radio telescope • Telescope2 Type — parabolic reflector, 10 m aperture • Telescope3 Name — radio interferometer • Telescope3 Type — two parabolic reflectors, 1.2 m aperture

Germany's first telescope for radio astronomy, with a diameter of 25 m, was inaugurated on 17 September 1956 on the Stockert. Until 1995 – since 1979 only for student training – it was used by the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. Between 1997 and 2004, the telescope was owned by the digital audio company Creamware and used for inspirational purposes and as a location for their musical festivals called Woodstockert. In 1999 the installation was listed for its industrial heritage, and since 2005 it is owned by the Nordrhein-Westfalen-Stiftung (NRW-Stiftung), which in 2006 made available €300,000 for restoration. The site is used and taken care of by the Astropeiler Stockert e.V., which has updated the technology and has opened the site to the public. Astronomical observations have been resumed in 2011, primarily for educational purposes. • Illustration — Detail from below • Illustration — Plaque inside the building • Illustration — Historical control electronics • Illustration — Array of brushes. The brushes allowed the mirror to move continuously in the military use as a radar dish.