Though the department already houses a number of optical telescopes, including the five that students now use in the labs, it is very rare for a community college to own a radio telescope. Stanford reports that the horn and support apparatus are already in place, and the rack that will house the computer and the electronic components is under construction. Once the dish is completed, it will be placed on the roof of the science building on a platform built by students. He expects the telescope to be an important teaching tool for astronomy students. A radio telescope uses a large concave dish to reflect radio waves to a focal point.
Optical telescopes are unable to pick up radio waves.
Optical telescopes produce an immediate image because they utilize visible light, while the radio telescope is used in conjunction with a laptop computer that analyzes the signals that come through, Stanford adds. While some optical telescopes can allow people to see as far as one million light years away, City College's radio telescope will only be able to see from 30,000 to 40,000 light years away. However, the radio telescope has an advantage over an optical one in being able to operate regardless of the weather, an invaluable asset in foggy San Francisco. Therefore, radio and optical telescopes are able to complement each other. UCB already has two radio telescopes.