First, let me introduce you to the "players."
The Hat Creek Radio Observatory (HCRO) is operated by SRI International, which is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and Organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and founded by the trustees of Stanford University.
The observatory is home to the Allen Telescope Array designed and owned by the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA.
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT), is a radio telescope array dedicated to astronomical observations and a simultaneous search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The array is situated at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Shasta County, 290 miles (470 km) northeast of San Francisco, California.
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit research organization incorporated in 1984 whose mission is to explore, understand, and explain the origin and nature of life in the universe, and to use this knowledge to inspire and guide present and future generations, sharing knowledge with the public, the press, and the government. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence".
They're everywhere - I couldn't get all of them which are spread out.
I had been wanting to get up there again and take some photos - the last time we were able to get inside was 10 years ago. We tried getting up there in 2020/2021 but they were closed due to the pandemic.
It's really gotten run down - you can tell the grounds have been neglected for a couple of years.
With the exception of the telescopes - there really isn't much to see. It's cool - it's different and something you might take in every 10 years or so.
I loved the rustic mountain terrain, more than anything.
Reminds me of the high desert in and around Modoc County.
All of this used to be a cattle ranch so they had bovine skulls all over the place - as their landscape art.
They're not kidding and are very serious about this.
We saw only one person - Laydee barked at him as he was leaving the building.
I did not know this.
This was in the lobby.
A dog bone?
It was a change of pace for us -
We went inside and it seemed no one was there - but they were just hidden. We felt we were being watched.
There were these big rooms of computers humming away, from the information they were receiving...
The telescopes move every now and then - you're not supposed to be around them. Also, no cell phones, laptops, notebooks, etc that could interfere with extraterrestrial communication.
They don't want any dropped calls.
Apparently, the little green men have big feet.
