Fisheye Lens Gallery

Underside of Arecibo radio telescope

Arecibo radio observatory. View of the underside of the dish antenna of the Arecibo radio telescope, the world's largest. Built into a volcanic crater in Puerto Rico, Arecibo's dish is made of 38, 800 aluminium panels which reflect radio waves up to a receiving antenna suspended over it (at upper centre). The dish is 305 metres across and has an area of about 70, 000 square metres. The dish is so large it cannot be steered, and instead the antenna is moved over it to scan the sky. Arecibo can send and receive signals to examine planets and asteroids and also analyse Earth's upper atmosphere. Photographed after Arecibo's upgrade in 1997

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Upgraded Arecibo radio telescope with subreflector

Upgraded Arecibo radio observatory. Aerial fisheye lens view of the Arecibo radio telescope, with its gregorian subreflector system newly installed in 1997. This largest radio telescope in the world is situated in a natural crater in the mountains of Puerto Rico. The new subreflector system with two mirrors is housed in a 90-tonne dome receiver seen suspended 130 metres above the fixed dish. It can send and receive signals to examine planets and asteroids & also analyse Earth's upper atmosphere. To scan the sky the dome is steered above the 305m dish. The upgrade includes a 16m high buffer screen around the dish and a new radar transmitter that increases Arecibo's power by 20 times

© DAVID PARKER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Fisheye lens photograph of the aurora borealis

Aurora borealis. A fisheye lens long exposure photograph of a yellow-green aurora borealis (Northern Lights) display; also visible are star trails. Aurorae can be smoky black to flaming red in colour. Aurorae are caused by the interaction between energetic charged particles from the Sun and gas molecules in the upper atmosphere (about 100 kilometres up). On reaching Earth the charged particles are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the poles, where they collide with the upper atmosphere. Star trails are caused by star's apparent movement across the sky due to the rotation of the Earth. Photographed in Finland

© PEKKA PARVIAINEN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY