Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 132, 413-416

The gain-elevation correction of the IRAM 30-m telescope

A. Greve¹ - R. Neri¹ - A. Sievers²

Send offprint request: A. Greve

1 - IRAM, 300 rue de la Piscine, 38406 St. Martin d'Hères, France
2 - IRAM, Nucleo Central, Avda. Divina Pastora 7, 18012 Granada, Spain

Received February 9; accepted May 6, 1998

Abstract:

The residual surface deformations of an optimized homologous radio reflector produce an elevation dependent gain variation for which astronomical observations must be corrected. For the IRAM 30-m telescope we provide information, and an example, how to correct observations of point-like and extended sources.

We find agreement between the gain-elevation dependence predicted from the finite element structural calculations and radiometric measurements on the telescope.

Key words: telescopes