Metsähovi Radio Observatory

Metsähovi Radio Observatory is the only astronomical radio observatory in Finland.

The observatory is a separate institute of the Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering, and it is located in Kirkkonummi, some 30 kilometres west of the Otaniemi campus. It is also one of the major research and teaching infrastructures of the university.

Metsähovi’s main instrument is the 14-metre radio telescope, which is used around the clock, every day of the year. Its observational data is used, e.g., for studying active galaxies, the Sun, and the rotation of the Earth.

In addition to the local personnel, Metsähovi hosts researchers and students especially from the Department of Radio Science and Technology and the Finnish Centre of Astronomy with the ESO, but also visitors from other Schools of Aalto as well as from other universities. For example, many astronomy students at the universities of Turku and Helsinki carry out their radio astronomical practical studies at Metsähovi, and doctoral students in particular often