The Shanghai Tianma 65 m radio telescope antenna

The Tianma 65 m radio telescope at Shanghai is a fully steerable single-dish radio telescope in China, operating at centimeter to millimeter wavelengths (1.25 GHz to 50 GHz). This paper presents details on the main specifications, design, performance analysis, testing, and construction of the telescope antenna. The measured total efficiency is better than 50% over the whole elevation angle range, first sidelobe levels are less than −20 dB, antenna system noise temperatures are less than 70 K at 30° elevation angle, and pointing accuracy is less than 3″. The measured and calculated results are in good agreement, verifying the effectiveness of the design and analysis.