The Sheshan VLBI station
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The Sheshan 25m radio
telescope is an alt-az antenna run by SHAO.
The telescope is located
in the Sheshan area, about 40km west of Shanghai.
The radio telescope has been
in operation since 1987, and it is one of the five main facilities of the
Chinese National Astronomical Observatory. The station is a member of the
European VLBI Network (EVN), the International VLBI Service for Geodesy
and Astrometry (IVS), and the Asia Pacific Telescope
The telescope is located at longitude
121°11' 59" E and latitude 31°05' 57" N, 5m above sea level. Some parameters
of the antenna are listed below：
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Diameter: 25m
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Antenna type: Kashegelun Beam wave-guide
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Seat-rack type: Azimuth-pitching
ring
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Main surface precision: 0.65 mm
(rms)
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Point precision: 20" (rms)
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Rolling range: Azimuth : -860 ~to~
4250; Elevation: 50 ~to~ 880
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Maximum rolling speed: Azimuth :
0.550/sec; Elevation: 0.280/sec
Receivers:
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Five bands of VLBI observation are
available at Sheshan. These are: L band (18 cm), C band (6 cm), K band
(1.3 cm), and S/X band (13/3.6 cm). The parameters of the receivers are
listed in Table 1. The observation band, frequency range, and the efficiency
of each band are given in the first three columns respectively. The type,
polarization model, and system temperature are given in the final three
columns. The L, C, and K bands are used for astrophysics, and the S/X double
frequencies used for geodesy. The X band is also sometimes used for astrophysical
observations.
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The X-band receiver system was upgraded
to a wide-band system in December 2000. Thus the Sheshan station has been
able to participate in the wide-band geodynamics experiments of IVS since
2001.
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A new twin-polarization receiver
for the C band is currently under construction with the cooperation of
ASTRON (the Netherlands), and will be available in mid 2004.
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The upgrade of the frequency switching
system of Sheshan station was finished by the end of 2002. The switch of
frequency between any two of the C, K, and S/X bands can now be carried
out in only three minutes. The system is thus very useful for multi-frequency
observations.
The VLBI recording System:
There are three recording systems
at the Sheshan VLBI station (VLBA, MKIV, and S2). Both thick and thin tapes
are available for the VLBA and MKIV recording systems. The MKIV upgrade
was completed successfully in 2000, and the Sheshan station has participated
in the two-head recording test at 512Mbit/s carried out by the EVN organization
in October 2001. Fringes were measured successfully on both head-stacks.
The performance of the observing system is presently undergoing further
improvement, and the MKV system will be available from mid 2004.
The Sheshan station is also equipped
with a Canadian S2 VLBI recording system, used for APT, VSOP, and other
VLBI observations. In addition, hydrogen masers were recently made by SHAO.
Leading Professor: Xiaoyu Hong
Group Members:
Faculty: Tao An(associate
professor), Qingyuan Fan(professor), Wei Gou, Xiaoyu Hong(professor),
Bin Li(engineer),Rongbin Zhao(assistant engineer), Quanbao Ling(engineer),
Jinqing Wang(engineer), Lingling Wang(engineer), Weihua Wang(associate
professor), Bo Xia(assistant engineer), Zhuhe Xue(professor),
Hong Yu(associate professor), Linfeng Yu
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,
All Rights Reserved
80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030,
China
Tel: +86-21-64386191 Email:shao@shao.ac.cn
SOURCE: Shanghai
Astronomical Observatory
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Observatory and Church
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Observatory and Church
by gumbase
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Observatory on She Shan
by Irish Shagua
JasonHang, on February 25,
2007, said:
Chinese Academy of Science,SHANGHAI
astronomical observatory, SHESHAN workstation. It is founded by French
Holy Joe in 1900. The observatory is equiped by a birefringent telescope
which has a diameter of 40cm. 100 years ago. SHESHAN is the largest observatory
in Far-east. Nowadays, because of its near urban areas location, SHESHAN
is more used in education than in science observation.
She Shan Basilica
 Christianity
in China portal
The She Shan Basilica (officially: Basilica of
Our Lady of She Shan, simplified Chinese: 佘山进教之佑圣母大殿;
pinyin: Shéshān jìnjiào zhī yòu shèngmǔ dàdiàn) is a Catholic
church in Shanghai, China. The name comes from its location on the western
peak of She Shan Hill, located in Songjiang District, to the west of Shanghai's
metropolitan area. It is the largest Christian church building in East
Asia and was at one time the destination of pilgrims from across Asia.
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Sketch of Sheshan Cathedral
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The stairs, the gate,
all leading up to the front of She Shan Basilica by Christopher
History
The official name of the church is the Church of
the Holy Mother in China. The first church on She Shan hill was built
in 1863. During the Taiping Rebellion, Jesuit missionaries bought a plot
of land on the southern slopes of the hill. A derelict Buddhist monastery
had stood on the site. The remaining buildings were demolished, and a small
building was constructed as living quarters for missionaries, and a small
chapel. At the peak of the hill (where the Maitreya hall had stood), a
small pavilion was built in which was placed a statue of the Madonna.
In June 1870, unrest in Tianjin led to the burning
of churches there. The Shanghai Jesuits prayed at the statue of the Madonna
and pledged to build a church to her honour in return for her protection.
Subsequently, construction of the church began. Wood was shipped in from
Shanghai, and stone bought from Fujian. All material had to be ported to
the peak by hand. The church was completed two years later. This first
church was in the form of a cross, and incorporated features of both Chinese
and Western architectural features. A veranda was placed outside the door,
with ten columns. Eight stone lions were placed before the church. In 1894,
several ancillary buildings were added. These included a chapel half-way
down the hill, a shrine to the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mary, and St Joseph.
Fourteen Stations of the Cross were constructed along the path to the Church.
In 1925, the existing Church was found to be inadequate,
and it lagged far behind other churches in Shanghai in terms of size and
ornamentation. The church was demolished and rebuilt. Because the Portuguese
priest and architect (叶肇昌) was very stringent about the quality of
construction, the whole project took ten years to finish, and the church
was completed in 1935.
In 1942, Pope Pius XII ordained the She Shan Cathedral
a minor Basilica. In 1946, the Holy See crowned the statue of Our Lady
of Zose (Zose being the Shanghainese pronunciation of She Shan)
at the apex of the tower.
After the Communist takeover in 1949, She Shan Cathedral
was heavily damaged during the Cultural Revolution. The stained glass windows
of the church, carvings along the Via Dolorosa, the statue atop the bell
tower, and various other works of iconography were destroyed.
In the 1950s, Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei the Roman Catholic
bishop of Shanghai was arrested and imprisoned for over 30 years and the
Chinese government put the basilica under the control of the Chinese Patriotic
Catholic Association and Chinese bishops not recognized by the Vatican,
and condemned by the papal encyclical Ad Apostolorum Principis.
After the Cultural Revolution ended, the damage was
gradually repaired. The statue was initially replaced with a simple iron
cross, and a replacement statue was installed in 2000.
On May 24, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI announced that he
had composed a special prayer for Our Lady of Sheshan.
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Layout
The church occupies an area of 1 hectare and is about
70 feet (20 m) tall. It is a rectangular Latin cross in shape, and in classical
Basilica form. Entrances are placed in the north, west, and south. The
main door is in the south-west. The nave is 55.81 m long, 24.68 m wide.
The ceiling is 16.46 high, and the church can seat 3000. The altar is placed
at the eastern end, and is built of marble with gold trim and in-laid jade.
The exterior is mainly granite, and part of the roof is covered in Chinese-style
color-glazed tiles.
The bell tower stands on the south-east corner. It
is 38 m tall. At the top of its bell tower stands a 4.8m bronze Madonna
and Child statue ("Our Lady of Zose", Zose being the Shanghainese
pronunciation of "She Shan").
Other features
The 14 Stations of the Cross are situated at the end
of each zig-zag path up the steep hill leading to the church. At the mid
level in an open square where there are two shrines, one in devotion to
the Sacred Heart and the other to the Virgin Mary.
Nearby is the She Shan Station of the Shanghai Astronomical
Observatory. This was originally built by the Jesuits.
Pilgrimage
In 1874, Pope Pius IX declared that pilgrims who went
to She Shan in May (traditionally a Marian month) would receive a Plenary
Indulgence. As a result, pilgrims from all over China began to congregate
at She Shan in May, a practice that continues to this day.
Every May, the church becomes the destination for pilgrims
who travel far and wide to make their annual pilgrimage at She Shan, praying
the Way of the Cross, the Rosary and attending Mass at this holy site.
Traditionally, many of the Catholics in the area were fishermen, who would
make the pilgrimage by boat. This tradition continues among local Catholics,
with the result that the creeks around She Shan are often crowded with
boats in May.
Currently, She Shan is the only active pilgrimage site
for Roman Catholics in China.
See also
References
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Papal encyclical Ad
Apostolorum Principis [1]
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Catholic News http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=58489
External links
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Sheshan Cathedral - 从佘山天文台看佘山教堂
by youxzr
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