tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42418746463711279462024-03-13T12:19:31.918+00:00lofar-ukKaren Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.comBlogger358125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-37055002676173500712014-06-12T12:58:00.000+01:002014-06-12T12:58:20.194+01:00
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><b>Three
new antenna stations for International LOFAR Telescope to be
constructed in Poland</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">Yesterday,
ASTRON and the Polish LOFAR consortium POLFAR signed a contract for
the construction of three new antenna stations for the International
LOFAR Telescope (ILT) in the north, west and south of Poland. The new LOFAR stations will be located in
Łazy (in southern Poland, operated by the Jagiellonian University in
Krakow), Bałdy (in northern Poland, operated by the University of
Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn), and Borówiec (in western Poland,
operated by the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of
Sciences). The formal agreement between the POLFAR consortium and
ASTRON now marks the start of the preparations for the roll-out of
these new stations, which are expected to be operational in 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">These stations will add to the existing International LOFAR Telescope stations: 38 stations in the Netherlands, six
in Germany, and one each in France and Sweden, and our own Chilbolton station. Connecting the three new ‘POLFAR’ stations will add valuable
extra sensitivity to the array, and in particular when combined with Chilbolton the Polish
stations give ‘baselines’ of up to 1550 km in the array, making
the ILT a much more capable instrument for high resolution imaging of
detailed structues. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">This image below shows the updated station distribution of the ILT. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxA3AaQuvnt-9oV1qraEEZbD8vTLry9bzuA_VI-eUMQT5lK5O5mOs_abEBt7GKM7E2g_udNzbPprjGwrut2rZ7XeTbGVoDkxsTu0U9gXacCYlOHBNA22z8_j3VFExKOffMj4k5CT0hLhA/s1600/ILT_Europe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxA3AaQuvnt-9oV1qraEEZbD8vTLry9bzuA_VI-eUMQT5lK5O5mOs_abEBt7GKM7E2g_udNzbPprjGwrut2rZ7XeTbGVoDkxsTu0U9gXacCYlOHBNA22z8_j3VFExKOffMj4k5CT0hLhA/s1600/ILT_Europe.jpg" height="380" width="640" /></a></div>
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LOFAR-UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00101817189788262063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-61332699188598401922013-08-28T07:26:00.001+01:002013-08-28T07:26:18.737+01:00"The Rawlings Array"On Tuesday 27th August, a dedication ceremony was held at Chilbolton to rename the LOFAR-UK Chilbolton station as "The Rawlings Array", in tribute to Professor Steven Rawlings. Professor Rawlings was instrumental in establishing the LOFAR-UK consortium, and in the decision to site the UK station at Chilbolton. Before his tragic death in January 2012, Professor Rawlings worked at the University of Oxford, where he played a leading role in both UK Radio Astronomy and the development of the international Square Kilometer Array project.
The dedication ceremony was attended by members of his family, and members of the LOFAR-UK and international LOFAR communities.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgPhrkmVPQRUL6yXIr5tm-wp4ZC_PhF5Yz8mP5gO_i7HcTCHy5aXnZo9eyRYGH4eftdLVJzLwosigbiGG3fhVNoH6lX7WA390aTmH4pD15cavgFdn9q-RdPmRTBzsb3IMB2LFA1CW917i/s1600/rawlings_plaque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgPhrkmVPQRUL6yXIr5tm-wp4ZC_PhF5Yz8mP5gO_i7HcTCHy5aXnZo9eyRYGH4eftdLVJzLwosigbiGG3fhVNoH6lX7WA390aTmH4pD15cavgFdn9q-RdPmRTBzsb3IMB2LFA1CW917i/s1600/rawlings_plaque.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0vWaT6YOsPHM_U27dnUzrGjg0wH23l7xCgR49YneLUHRTx1eWRPsn4_IAaKctGsIdg361yO0LrdtW2zpT7BEn-70n2djr-dEDyjTdeEJ0mlMomb1mFa0AR7s_U64H48G1qSI0UzcPAG9/s1600/rawlings_plaque2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0vWaT6YOsPHM_U27dnUzrGjg0wH23l7xCgR49YneLUHRTx1eWRPsn4_IAaKctGsIdg361yO0LrdtW2zpT7BEn-70n2djr-dEDyjTdeEJ0mlMomb1mFa0AR7s_U64H48G1qSI0UzcPAG9/s1600/rawlings_plaque2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits: A.Mallet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />LOFAR-UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00101817189788262063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-34683702704612725432013-05-28T16:02:00.002+01:002013-05-28T16:02:26.822+01:00LOFAR Overview PaperThe LOFAR overview paper is now in press at Astronomy and Astrophysics. You can read all about it in this <a href="http://www.astron.nl/about-astron/press-public/news/lofar-overview-paper-accepted/lofar-overview-paper-accepted">ASTRON press release</a>, and download the paper itself from the <a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.3550">arxiv:1305:3550</a>.<br />
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<br />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-2604105931908511802013-03-20T09:21:00.002+00:002013-03-20T09:21:17.412+00:00NAM2013 Abstract Deadline ExtendedThe NAM2013 Abstract deadline has been extended to April 1st. Scientists working on LOFAR, who have not already done so, can still submit their abstract via the <a href="http://www.nam2013.co.uk/">NAM2013 website</a> to Session 16 on "First Science from LOFAR" (which is scheduled for 2.5 hours on the afternoon of Monday 1st July):<br />
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<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue;"><strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: black;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">16. First science from LOFAR</span></strong><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;"> (NAM+UKSP+MIST)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">Organisers:</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;" /><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">Philip Best - Royal Observatoty Edinburgh</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;" /><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">LOFAR-UK Management Committee</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;">The International LOFAR Telescope is a next-generation software-driven low-frequency radio interferometer, which is opening up one of the few relatively unexplored windows in the electromagnetic spectrum, between 30 and 240 MHz. After an extended commissioning period, December 2012 saw the start of Cycle-0 science observations. These observations cover a very broad range of astrophysics, from cosmology to solar system studies, including the Epoch of Re-ionisation, pulsars, transient/variable sources, wide and deep surveys, cosmic rays, the origin of magnetic fields, and studies of the Sun and space weather. This parallel session will showcase the early science results from LOFAR Cycle-0 observing, as well as highlighting the current scientific and technical capabilities of the array, and forthcoming opportunities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;">Hope to see you in St. Andrews!</span></div>
Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-7046396087029585722013-03-19T09:00:00.000+00:002013-03-19T13:30:44.715+00:00LOFAR discovers new giant galaxy in all-sky survey<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A team of astronomers led by ASTRON astronomer Dr. George Heald has discovered a previously unknown gigantic radio galaxy, using initial images from a new, ongoing all-sky radio survey. The galaxy was found using the powerful International LOFAR Telescope (ILT), built and designed by ASTRON. The team is currently performing LOFAR's first all-sky imaging survey, the Multi-frequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS). While browsing the first set of MSSS images, Dr. Heald identified a new source the size of the full moon projected on the sky. The radio emission is associated with material ejected from one member of an interacting galaxy triplet system tens to hundreds of millions of years ago. The physical extent of the material is much larger than the galaxy system itself, extending millions of light years across intergalactic space. The MSSS survey is still ongoing, and is poised to discover many new sources like this one.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkLAMYl6dCxYbQXkPOTgeslegf4SP7QKaX8hS2mJoR8XjMXZaDOq78fO3WWOq2huLAVtcnzxyTpovXabCbT6IYQQo3IAk9b0agQ-T3A836yUsn9mG73rUEqdGg6qUC1OO-_OgDwVAsokE/s1600/MSSS+press+release.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkLAMYl6dCxYbQXkPOTgeslegf4SP7QKaX8hS2mJoR8XjMXZaDOq78fO3WWOq2huLAVtcnzxyTpovXabCbT6IYQQo3IAk9b0agQ-T3A836yUsn9mG73rUEqdGg6qUC1OO-_OgDwVAsokE/s400/MSSS+press+release.tiff" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Overlay of the new GRG (blue-white colors) on an optical image from the</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Digitized Sky survey. The inset shows the central galaxy triplet (image</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">from Sloan Digital Sky Survey). The image is about 2 Mpc across.</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The new galaxy is a member of a class of objects called Giant Radio Galaxies (GRGs). GRGs are a type of radio galaxy with extremely large physical size, suggesting that they are either very powerful or very old. LOFAR is an effective tool to find new GRGs like this one because of its extreme sensitivity to such large objects, combined with its operation at low frequencies that are well suited to observing old sources.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The center of the new GRG is associated with one member of a galaxy triplet known as UGC 09555. The central galaxy is located at a redshift of z=0.054536, or 750 million light years from Earth. The central radio source was previously known and has a flat radio spectrum, typical of giant radio galaxies.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 3px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">LOFAR's MSSS survey is a concerted effort to image the entire northern sky at very low radio frequencies, between 30 and 160 MHz (wavelengths from 2m to 10m). The primary aim of the survey is to perform an initial shallow scan of the sky, in order to create an all-sky model that will support the calibration of much deeper observations. It is comparable in sensitivity and angular resolution to previous surveys with ‘classical' radio telescopes like the Very Large Array (VLA) in the USA, ASTRON's Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India. MSSS is unique in that it operates at substantially lower frequencies, and is therefore poised to uncover new sources that were missed by previous surveys. Its broad bandwidth coverage is also novel in all-sky radio surveys, and will be used to provide additional information about the detected objects.</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">The international team of astronomers that is performing the MSSS survey is made up of about fifty members from various institutes, mostly in the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Poland, France and Italy.</span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">End of press
release<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For more information please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Femke Boekhorst, PR & Communication.
E-mail: <a href="mailto:boekhorst@astron.nl">boekhorst@astron.nl</a>. Phone:
+31 521 595 204. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dr. George Heald, astronomer. E-mail: <a href="mailto:heald@astron.nl">heald@astron.nl</a>. Phone: +31 521 595 100.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">More information about MSSS can be found on
the ASTRON website: <a href="http://www.astron.nl/radio-observatory/lofar-msss/lofar-msss">http://www.astron.nl/radio-observatory/lofar-msss/lofar-msss</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-36606227658541849212013-03-18T11:46:00.000+00:002013-03-18T11:46:02.344+00:00Goodbye and Thankyou to Derek<span style="font-family: inherit;">LOFAR-UK would like to say a public thank you and goodbye to Derek McKay-Bukowski, who will cease his duties as the LOFAR Station Manager for UK608 (Chilbolton) at the end of March. Derek has been an integral part of LOFAR-UK through <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">construction to ongoing operations, including the weeks on end without breaks when he slept in a small room at Chilbolton! We are all convinced that the LOFAR-UK station would not be the success it is without his dedication and attention to detail. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Derek checking one of the LBA antennas during installation at Chilbolton in June 2010. Image credit: Chris Ison/PA Wire</td></tr>
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</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Derek's flat-pack-station presentation at INTECH for the LOFAR-UK opening (which you can <a href="http://blog.lofar-uk.org/2010/09/dereks-talk-at-opening.html">watch here</a>) will long be remembered, as will his entertaining health and safety briefings. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiS6dNVyGDaSdc2xd9TxySa7mM2x3cTRHh_5mvz6NBjbAyr6HLuyVrXrmwEVJ_BWvcHqrpQvna5r4cB_RUIRvbUKp-gKYalIxL2ADD7aPSO5ZYoaXq9_26eDrkO9OWyhrOUxe7nFBBmagw/s1600/Ribbon_group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiS6dNVyGDaSdc2xd9TxySa7mM2x3cTRHh_5mvz6NBjbAyr6HLuyVrXrmwEVJ_BWvcHqrpQvna5r4cB_RUIRvbUKp-gKYalIxL2ADD7aPSO5ZYoaXq9_26eDrkO9OWyhrOUxe7nFBBmagw/s640/Ribbon_group.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derek (left) assisting Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell at the official opening of UK608 in September 2010. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">We must also mention Derek's contributions to LOFAR-UK in the early part of 2012. Derek went well </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">beyond the call of duty when storms caused damage to some of the tiles and LBAs and his rapid intervention prevented this freak event from turning into a much more costly repair. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3SmIbfn8qw9wKvMmAnPumcpNmWlxwPgGpY4dgwLnEzLTq4L5E12sLk3yG2ZY1bPtxcXpLg8JEitSLyrOA7wm-rrV44ePTMn_fOoCdGV6ZLCSwomwcnqlRhMMDWAg9eAFUjiIVfxH8shD/s1600/hba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3SmIbfn8qw9wKvMmAnPumcpNmWlxwPgGpY4dgwLnEzLTq4L5E12sLk3yG2ZY1bPtxcXpLg8JEitSLyrOA7wm-rrV44ePTMn_fOoCdGV6ZLCSwomwcnqlRhMMDWAg9eAFUjiIVfxH8shD/s640/hba.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derek (centre in white hat) directing volunteers helping with repairs to an HBA tile in Febuary 2012. Image credit: STFC.</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It is with real sadness </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">that we must say goodbye to Derek from the LOFAR-UK, and w</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">e him all the best in his future work wit</span>h the <a href="http://www.sgo.fi/KAIRA/">KAIRA project</a> in Finland. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-53844300939093524272013-03-14T08:00:00.000+00:002013-03-14T08:00:09.012+00:00LOFAR Science Meeting in Dalfsen<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ASTRON is announcing the <a href="http://www.astron.nl/lofarscience2013/index.php">next LOFAR science meeting in Dalfsen</a>, to be held next week (19-20th March). </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This is a great </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">opportunity to bring more attention to the science results already coming out of LOFAR, and the fact that full operations are now happening.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The below is a press release from ASTRON about the meeting: </span></span><br />
<br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US">LOFAR
telescope open for business<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">On Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 March, one
hundred astronomers from all over the world will travel to the town of Dalfsen
in the Netherlands for a 2-day workshop about the International LOFAR Telescope
(ILT), designed and built by ASTRON. Now that the first fully operational
observing cycle has started and the telescope is open to the whole astronomical
community, LOFAR is officially open for business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The LOFAR telescope owes its strength to
revolutionary new techniques and software for the processing of unprecedented
large data streams from an extensive network of relatively simple radio
receivers, concentrated in the north-east of the Netherlands and spread over
Germany, France, the UK and Sweden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Eighteen months ago, during the
commissioning and test phase of LOFAR, the first LOFAR science workshop was
held, also in Dalfsen. Since then, new antenna stations have been added to the
array and the sensitivity of the telescope has improved, as well as the
processing software. Besides this, the first appealing scientific results have
already been published in different renowned scientific journals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">During the workshop in March, builders and
users of the telescope, as well as owners of the different international
antenna stations, can exchange science results and technical ideas and deepen
the collaboration to get the most out of the LOFAR telescope at both the
national and international level. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">End of press
release<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For more information, please contact:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Femke Boekhorst, PR & Communication,
ASTRON: +31 521 595 204 and +31 6 21 23 42 43. E-mail: <a href="mailto:boekhorst@astron.nl">boekhorst@astron.nl</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-81267350817371293512013-03-07T11:25:00.002+00:002013-03-07T11:25:42.107+00:00I-LOFAR Event in the European Space Expo dome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images/european-space-expo.jpg?w=500&h=294&as=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/ukspaceagency/images/european-space-expo.jpg?w=500&h=294&as=1" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">On the evening of Friday, June 7, our colleagues at <a href="http://www.lofar.ie/">I-LOFAR</a> (the Irish LOFAR consortium) will be running an event showcasing what a LOFAR station could do for Irish astronomy (and the whole of the International LOFAR Telescope) in the <a href="http://www.astrophysics.ie/?p=778">European Space Expo dome</a> which will at that time be visiting Trinity College Dublin.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-52084524372628333442013-02-28T11:42:00.000+00:002013-02-28T11:42:25.295+00:00LOFAR Sessions at UK National Astronomy MeetingThere will be a special session celebrating early science from LOFAR at the upcoming <a href="http://www.nam2013.co.uk/">2013 UK National Astronomy Meeting</a>, to be held in St Andrews, Scotland, 1-5th July 2013.<br />
<br />
Special session 16, on "First Science from LOFAR" has provisionally been scheduled for two 75 minute blocks for the Monday afternoon (1st July).<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue;"><strong style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: black;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">16. First science from LOFAR</span></strong><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;"> (NAM+UKSP+MIST)</span></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">Organisers:</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;" /><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">Philip Best - Royal Observatoty Edinburgh</span><br style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat;" /><span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; color: blue; font-size: 14px;">LOFAR-UK Management Committee</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;">The International LOFAR Telescope is a next-generation software-driven low-frequency radio interferometer, which is opening up one of the few relatively unexplored windows in the electromagnetic spectrum, between 30 and 240 MHz. After an extended commissioning period, December 2012 saw the start of Cycle-0 science observations. These observations cover a very broad range of astrophysics, from cosmology to solar system studies, including the Epoch of Re-ionisation, pulsars, transient/variable sources, wide and deep surveys, cosmic rays, the origin of magnetic fields, and studies of the Sun and space weather. This parallel session will showcase the early science results from LOFAR Cycle-0 observing, as well as highlighting the current scientific and technical capabilities of the array, and forthcoming opportunities.</span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">
<span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat repeat; font-size: 14px;">Abstracts for talks, or posters (note there is a limit of 2 abstracts per first author, only one of which can be requested as a talk), should be submitted via the <a href="http://www.nam2013.co.uk/">NAM2013 Website</a>, before 19th March 2013. </span></div>
Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-57431039560473064782013-02-28T11:35:00.000+00:002013-02-28T11:35:20.003+00:00Upcoming LOFAR Solar KSP Meeting<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>FYI: Announcement of 7th LOFAR Solar KSP Workshop in Trinity College Dublin</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>To all members of the LOFAR Key Science Project "Solar Physics and Space Weather with LOFAR"</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
The 2013 annual workshop of the LOFAR solar KSP will be held in Dublin April 24-26. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Peter Gallagher from the Trinity College Dublin will be the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">host this year.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The workshop will start at 2 pm on Wednesday (April 24) and should be </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">finished at noon on Friday (April 26). During the workshop, attendees will hear </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">a report on the present state of the LOFAR Solar KSP and will have a chance to present first results </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of LOFAR observations of the Sun. Furthermore, there will be time for</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">discussions on solar LOFAR observations in future, solar radio science, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and the framework of the LOFAR collaboration.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">For more information or to submit an abstract KSP members should contact Frank Breitling (e-mail:</span><a href="mailto:fbreitling@aip.de" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">fbreitling 'at' aip.de</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">). Abstract deadline</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> March 19, 2013.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-87988328404219892902013-01-25T09:00:00.000+00:002013-02-28T11:28:48.392+00:00LOFAR-UK Scientists in Pulsar Press ReleaseA press release came out this morning from LOFAR on work involving two LOFAR-UK scientists: Ben Stappers from Manchester and Geoffrey Wright from Sussex.<br />
<br />
Below is a direct copy of the press release found on the <a href="http://www.astron.nl/about-astron/press-public/news">ASTRON news site</a>. The paper it's based on was published in <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> today.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chameleon pulsar baffles astronomers</span></span></h2>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">An international team - led by Dutch astronomers (SRON,
NOVA and ASTRON) - has made a tantalizing discovery about the way pulsars emit
radiation. The emission of X-rays and radio waves by these pulsating neutron
stars is able to change dramatically in seconds, simultaneously, in a way that
cannot be explained with current theory. It suggests a quick change of the entire
magnetosphere. In their research the team combined observations from t</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">he X-ray space telescope XMM-Newton and the radio
telescope LOFAR (among others); t</span></b><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">he research results appear </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">in today’s [date] issue of the journal <i>Science</i>.</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Pulsars are small
spinning stars about 20 km in diameter -the size of a small city - with a mass
that roughly compares to the mass of our Sun. They have a strong magnetic field
that is approximately one million times stronger than the fields we can make in
laboratories on Earth. The pulsar emits a beam of radiation. As the star spins
and the radio beam sweeps repeatedly over Earth we detect a short pulse of
radiation, a bit like a lighthouse. Some pulsars emit radiation across the
entire electromagnetic spectrum, including both X-ray and radio wavelengths. Although
pulsars were discovered more than 40 years ago the exact mechanism by which
pulsars shine is still unknown. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It has been known for some time that some radio pulsars flip their
behaviour between two (or even more) states, changing the pattern and intensity
of their radio pulses. The moment of flip is both unpredictable and sudden
(often within a single rotation period). It is also known from satellite-borne
telescopes that a handful of radio pulsars can also be detected at X-ray
frequencies. However, the X-ray signal is so weak that nothing is known of its
variability - could it be that the X-rays also flip?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Moments of flip</span></h3>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">
The scientists studied a particular pulsar called PSR B0943+10, one of the
first pulsars discovered. The pulses from PSR B0943 + 10 change in form and
brightness every few hours, and these changes happen within about a second. It
is as if the pulsar has two distinct personalities. As PSR B0943+10 is one of the few pulsars also
known to emit X-ray radiation, knowing how this pulsar behaved in X-rays during
the 'radio changes' could provide new insight into the nature of the emission
process. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Since the source
is a weak X-ray emitter, the team used the most sensitive X-ray telescope in operation,
the ESA-funded XMM-Newton. The observations took place over six separate sessions
of about six hours in duration. To identify the exact flips in the pulsar’s
radio behaviour the X-ray observations were tracked simultaneously with two of
the most powerful radio telescopes in the world, GMRT and LOFAR (developed and
built by </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ASTRON, the </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Netherlands
Institute for Radio Astronomy).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Two X-ray states
as well</span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The results were totally surprising. The X-rays
did indeed change their behaviour <span style="color: red;"> </span>synchronously with the radio emission,
as might have been expected. But in the state where the radio signal is strong
and organized, the X-rays were weak. And when the radio emission switched to
weak the X-rays intensified. </span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">“To
our surprise we found that when the brightness of the radio emission decreased
to half the original brightness, the X-ray emission brightened by a factor of
two!” says project leader Wim Hermsen. 'And only then the X-ray emission is
pulsed. Lucien Kuiper, who scrutinised the data from XMM-Newton , concluded that
this strongly suggests </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">that a temporary ”hotspot” close
to the pulsar’s magnetic pole switches on and off with the change of state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Most striking was that this metamorphosis takes
place within seconds, after which the pulsar remains stable in its new state
for a few hours. Why a pulsar should
undergo such dramatic and unpredictable changes cannot be explained by current theory.
It strongly suggests a quick change of the entire magnetosphere</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<h3>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Tale of the
unexpected</span></h3>
<span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 11.0pt;">
This unexpected chameleon-like behaviour of the radio pulsar PSR B0943+10
bolsters fundamental research into the physical processes which occur in the
extreme conditions which occur in the magnetosphere of pulsars, 45 years after
the discovery of neutron stars. Wim Hermsen and his colleagues have been
granted new observation time on XMM-Newton. By combining their X-ray observations
with observations from a number of radio telescopes (Westerbork, GMRT and
Lovell telescopes) the astronomers will also be able to simultaneously observe
pulsar PSR B1822-09. In radio wavelengths PSR B1822-09 shows similar flips as
PSR B0943+10.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<h3>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Team</span></h3>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The research was led by Wim Hermsen </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(SRON Netherlands
Institute for Space Research, UvA), Lucien Kuiper and Jelle de Plaa (SRON),
Jason Hessels and Joeri van Leeuwen (ASTRON en UvA), Dipanjan Mitra
(NCFRA-TIFR, Pune, India), Joanna Rankin (University of Vermont, Burlington,
VS), Ben Stappers (University of Manchester, UK), Geoffrey Wright (University
of Sussex, UK). The Pulsar Working Group and the Builders Group from the LOFAR-telescope, which was at the time still
in the commissioning phase, gave support
to these observations. The results of this research, entitled: </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Synchronous X-ray
and Radio Mode Switches: a Rapid Transformation of the Pulsar Magnetosphere</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"> (link!) will appear in <i>Science</i> today. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-50022704544730409512012-12-11T12:13:00.001+00:002012-12-11T12:13:37.966+00:00Congratulations to Winners of the 2012 PhotowalkThe winners of the 2012 STFC Photowalk Competition were <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/News+and+Events/43187.aspx">announced today</a>.<br />
<br />
LOFAR-UK would like to pass our congratulations to the national winner, Mrs Lisa Ward who won a trip to CERN with the below photo she took of the 25m dish at Chilbolton.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/resources/image/jpg/CHO_02_52189jpeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/resources/image/jpg/CHO_02_52189jpeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #364780; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2012 STFC Photowalk National Winner, Lisa Ward (Credit: Lisa Ward/STFC)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We also extend our congratulation to Dr. Roger Dingley, who was named the Chilbolton winner for the below photo he took of a LOFAR-UK antenna at Chilbolton.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY650TtqJDlo9eSD9wBASZrAWtqO6k5zC0BGD-3uzyeSKTHz5Cas7hJ_GG5iFhoXlDgE1jpA9g4EwXcMQOLknVDNcnsxVOA89v3xNkpdGhmR8qExpBUbmcIHLchyphenhyphenqhrobQA1H97iassAzX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+09.48.05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY650TtqJDlo9eSD9wBASZrAWtqO6k5zC0BGD-3uzyeSKTHz5Cas7hJ_GG5iFhoXlDgE1jpA9g4EwXcMQOLknVDNcnsxVOA89v3xNkpdGhmR8qExpBUbmcIHLchyphenhyphenqhrobQA1H97iassAzX/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+09.48.05.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2012 STFC Photowalk Chilbolton Winner, Roger Dingley (Credit: Roger Dingley/STFC)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />And finally congratulations too to all the other regional winners, and indeed all the entrants for their fantastic photos of STFC facilities across the nation.<br /><br />
You can see all the finalists <a href="http://blog.lofar-uk.org/2012/11/stfc-photowalk-competition-finalists.html">here</a>, and some photos of the photographers at work on the Chilbolton LOFAR-UK site <a href="http://blog.lofar-uk.org/2012/09/stfc-photowalk-2012-visits-chilbolton.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-13189877054336781362012-11-22T09:50:00.003+00:002012-11-22T09:50:45.280+00:00STFC Photowalk Competition Finalists<br />
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The 10 finalists of the 2012 STFC Photowalk Competition have now been decided, and include one image of a LOFAR LBA at the Chilbtolton Observatory.</div>
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The final images include 4 regional winners, the winner of an online vote, plus the next top 5 from the online vote.</div>
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The final 10 images can be seen at <a href="http://www.ukphotowalk.org.uk/competition/all/event0/entries/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.ukphotowalk.org.uk/<wbr></wbr>competition/all/event0/<wbr></wbr>entries/</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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The regional, online and overall national winners will be announced on Friday 7<sup>th</sup> December following the final judging panel.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY650TtqJDlo9eSD9wBASZrAWtqO6k5zC0BGD-3uzyeSKTHz5Cas7hJ_GG5iFhoXlDgE1jpA9g4EwXcMQOLknVDNcnsxVOA89v3xNkpdGhmR8qExpBUbmcIHLchyphenhyphenqhrobQA1H97iassAzX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+09.48.05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY650TtqJDlo9eSD9wBASZrAWtqO6k5zC0BGD-3uzyeSKTHz5Cas7hJ_GG5iFhoXlDgE1jpA9g4EwXcMQOLknVDNcnsxVOA89v3xNkpdGhmR8qExpBUbmcIHLchyphenhyphenqhrobQA1H97iassAzX/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+09.48.05.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the LOFAR Image which has been shortlisted. "Part of the LOFAR site - Searching the Universe", by Roger Dingley (for full credits see <a href="http://www.ukphotowalk.org.uk/competition/all/4672/#anchor">here.</a>)</td></tr>
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Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-10240063974873222622012-11-13T10:46:00.000+00:002012-11-13T10:46:51.473+00:00Second Round of Proposals to use LOFAR-UK as a single stationThe second announcement of opportunity for UK scientists to apply to use the LOFAR-UK station in "stand-alone", or single station mode is now live. The deadline for proposals is 5pm on Monday 10th December 2012. For more details see <a href="http://www.lofar-uk.org/wiki/index.php?n=Main.Call-for-proposals">this page</a> the <a href="http://www.lofar-uk.org/wiki/index.php?n=Main.HomePage">LOFAR-UK For Astronomers</a> pages.Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-37880022407394093902012-10-29T10:18:00.001+00:002012-10-29T10:18:31.247+00:00Press Release: Supermassive Black Hole Inflates Giant BubbleA press release out this morning from ASTRON on the results from LOFAR imaging of M87<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.astron.nl/about-astron/press-public/news/super-massive-black-hole-inflates-giant-bubble/super-massive-black-ho">Supermassive Black Hole Inflates Giant Bubble</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.astron.nl/sites/astron.nl/files/article_img/lofar-virgo-pr.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.astron.nl/sites/astron.nl/files/article_img/lofar-virgo-pr.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The image from the release above- a lovely composite of the LOFAR and SDSS optical data.Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-75001374308022838962012-10-15T10:52:00.000+01:002012-10-15T10:54:10.789+01:00LOFAR-UK Video on the JodcastA <a href="http://www.jodcast.net/archive/video/lofar/">Jodcast video released this weekend</a> shows Jodcast presenters visiting the LOFAR-UK station in Chilbolton and interviews with several LOFAR-UK scientists helping out with the repairs following the big storm last January.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="225" width="400" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R8HqEe2VXyg" width="560"></iframe>Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-67493561713674770812012-10-05T13:51:00.000+01:002012-10-05T13:54:49.663+01:00A LOFAR View of M87A paper appears on the arxiv today with new images of the centre of nearby elliptical galaxy M87, taken with the Dutch LOFAR stations.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.1346">M87 at Metre Wavelenghts: the LOFAR Picture</a>, by de Gasperin et al. (A&A in press).<br />
<br />
M87 (also known at Virgo-A) is one of the two massive elliptical galaxies found at the centre of our nearest cluster of galaxies (the Virgo cluster).<br />
<br />
In the centre of M87 is a well know actively accreting supermassive black hole, which is emitting jets of energetic particles which emit significant amounts of radio. These jets are even (just) visible in optical images of M87 (the blue line below).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcd3Y9qD7QkXUb4gwrj1qCPF09dDy4w4DviXuICUshVglDCPSI766JzTUtvpTN_kNbJqpyDTdGGX3Mciv114DXpU_ZMiee5PrvwKgyA81bGz5hOx5hj9XEtK3-7nNPsLMJIzXRvBSPFWu5/s1600/Messier_87_Hubble_WikiSky.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcd3Y9qD7QkXUb4gwrj1qCPF09dDy4w4DviXuICUshVglDCPSI766JzTUtvpTN_kNbJqpyDTdGGX3Mciv114DXpU_ZMiee5PrvwKgyA81bGz5hOx5hj9XEtK3-7nNPsLMJIzXRvBSPFWu5/s320/Messier_87_Hubble_WikiSky.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Optical image of M87 taken with Hubble Space Telescope. Scale 3x3 arcmins. <a href="http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/30/image/f/">More details.</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
M87 has often been a poster child for radio astronomy images. These images of the jet taken by the NRAO's VLA can be seen in many talks about radio galaxies and AGN.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19bWCPpQjAoFuXche3QXpuVbo7if5U32IGzCqP-Hoyv_CKQRxJ3UHyPPXlZ4BjLgM38oF6Fbd9Cr_g3ZVlFRgPfIYOmXcvvO9bne6LcKMp5DY5ayqdzSyQidPD8Mn2S3jwo-JMtlDpeg-/s1600/M87_lo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19bWCPpQjAoFuXche3QXpuVbo7if5U32IGzCqP-Hoyv_CKQRxJ3UHyPPXlZ4BjLgM38oF6Fbd9Cr_g3ZVlFRgPfIYOmXcvvO9bne6LcKMp5DY5ayqdzSyQidPD8Mn2S3jwo-JMtlDpeg-/s320/M87_lo.jpeg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M87 imaged at 90cm (300 Mhz) with the VLA. Scale 15x15 arcmin. <a href="http://images.nrao.edu/57">More details.</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And especially this series of images zooming into the central regions.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2YUzsig8gd3m0NviFQH0oWgBdHpI3vz7EVGmWwpeyfEj6m1MpoHNapZaTTHTTi0_qpyvIXdnOSYRuxLj2ueUunxTvEVnAE0RUO_b3V0EBhlX1QTTC4OuBdwHNjTt7Pq-TAcW2ji4xSOfW/s1600/m87s_vla_big.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2YUzsig8gd3m0NviFQH0oWgBdHpI3vz7EVGmWwpeyfEj6m1MpoHNapZaTTHTTi0_qpyvIXdnOSYRuxLj2ueUunxTvEVnAE0RUO_b3V0EBhlX1QTTC4OuBdwHNjTt7Pq-TAcW2ji4xSOfW/s400/m87s_vla_big.gif" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For more details see the <a href="http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990216.html">APOD entry for this image</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The paper on the arxiv today used observations of M87 with both the HBA and LBA arrays of LOFAR. The Dutch stations only were used in this observation - adding in international stations like Chilbolton will be able to increase the resolution even further, and I will look forward to seeing that in the future.<br />
<div>
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<div>
I have extracted two of the images from the paper. This first was taken with the HBA at 140 MHz (2.1 m) and shows an area 15x15 arcmin in size (same as the VLA image above, but at wavelengths more than twice as large).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd68dBNSNK7CCbHllVgzd1YHrlZbGhN02_eY6Sj6aYcF0vBOSXwCt6n9F1GsU9Qie5FEXqsVuv0UbS6e5ZHI0UCKk_d5pMt7CxjjHW6SXY7Kn_8pJd_ivlYa3SGJtltdaDFUwRecYfhOUw/s1600/M87_HBA_140Mhz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd68dBNSNK7CCbHllVgzd1YHrlZbGhN02_eY6Sj6aYcF0vBOSXwCt6n9F1GsU9Qie5FEXqsVuv0UbS6e5ZHI0UCKk_d5pMt7CxjjHW6SXY7Kn_8pJd_ivlYa3SGJtltdaDFUwRecYfhOUw/s320/M87_HBA_140Mhz.png" width="307" /></a></div>
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And this shows one of the many LBA images made - this one at 25 Mhz (12m) of a slightly larger sky area (21x21 arcmin). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIuOLE5bofT5xGacbBKI3-40CW76qIXf-fEyYfhmdTOH4YcEvJ2F7smG4E-DmEzsfxt7CmkL4n6YfSnNIHeOjB-NoxVj23uKkvkFkoQxCMt-M3M56PKjAxf1Vq-uex06vO9IH1mKExJh3/s1600/M87_LBA_25Mhz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIuOLE5bofT5xGacbBKI3-40CW76qIXf-fEyYfhmdTOH4YcEvJ2F7smG4E-DmEzsfxt7CmkL4n6YfSnNIHeOjB-NoxVj23uKkvkFkoQxCMt-M3M56PKjAxf1Vq-uex06vO9IH1mKExJh3/s320/M87_LBA_25Mhz.png" width="303" /></a></div>
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These new observations at lower frequencies than ever before allow scientists to better constrain the spectral shape of the radio emission from the jets, which in turn can be used to constrain the details of how the supermassive black hole in the centre of M87 is able to power these extremely extended emission regions.<br />
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Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-52302555060119570312012-09-20T16:34:00.001+01:002012-09-21T10:28:54.618+01:00STFC Photowalk 2012 Visits ChilboltonIt was a beautiful day yesterday in Chilbolton, perfect for a visit by more than 40 amateur and professional photographers taking part in the STFC run <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/37367.aspx">Photowalk 2012</a>.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-04ZStom3P2oCqNjXTtn0dYtYuXaPWa8RDk_T2QwH3iq5SjSGfPUn7wg7qGeUqcdujd8yEqc0wH-H26Ip_JXISeQ9tly6k15EbuYdX1fvJC4UOh5whFsKwZK3kt4TDrZQ7w-fmwhNhXP/s1600/100_2441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD-04ZStom3P2oCqNjXTtn0dYtYuXaPWa8RDk_T2QwH3iq5SjSGfPUn7wg7qGeUqcdujd8yEqc0wH-H26Ip_JXISeQ9tly6k15EbuYdX1fvJC4UOh5whFsKwZK3kt4TDrZQ7w-fmwhNhXP/s320/100_2441.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A photographer gets an unusual angle on the LOFAR-UK LBA field. Image credit: Alan Doo, STFC. </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">STFC hold <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/39468.aspx">photowalks across all of their facilities</a> with an aim of engaging with another stakeholder group, and perhaps collating an image bank of photos, which may be taken in a different style. Yesterday 27 photographers visited Chilbolton in the morning, and 30 in the afternoon. They were given the opportunity to p<a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Public+and+Schools/39464.aspx">hotograph the whole site, including the wildlife</a>! </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Photographers who took part in yesterday's events will be able to enter their images to a regional, national and international competition for public and expert judging (along with photographers from similar events held at other STFC facilities). Judges will include award-winning photographer Max Alexander who told STFC: "The inaugural Photo Walk competition in 2011 was a fantastic success, producing spectacular photographs of cutting edge science, and I am delighted to be a judge again this year. The Photo Walks are a unique opportunity for members of the public and enthusiastic photographers to capture dynamic images at some of the UK's leading science and technology facilities. I thoroughly recommend entering this competition to get behind the scenes of these inspiring and world class facilities."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Check out the winners of <a href="http://www.stfc.ac.uk/37355.aspx">last year's photography competition</a>. Not that we're biased, but we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that one of this year's winners took a picture of our lovely LOFAR-UK antennas. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following a selection of the 10 best images from each of the four STFC sites, a website will be available for members of the public to vote on the best of the 40. We'll keep you posted on when that becomes available. </span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAwyzWiB1t1I9UXXdJUfCny9FawPnZmHTDJpisGIr-8AMTt3ysZmtbwWfJPqir_egXw6M_QJTnbJttERVPgEWoR6xno8uVJ_kdujNIo4py5JtVCyqBokkR3UHOWzzeujSfFEj67U1tE3B/s1600/IMG_1205_low_res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUAwyzWiB1t1I9UXXdJUfCny9FawPnZmHTDJpisGIr-8AMTt3ysZmtbwWfJPqir_egXw6M_QJTnbJttERVPgEWoR6xno8uVJ_kdujNIo4py5JtVCyqBokkR3UHOWzzeujSfFEj67U1tE3B/s320/IMG_1205_low_res.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another interesting angle. Image credit: Alan Doo, STFC</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_JHoB9FYjwq4eXVJZVYKjhVqC94Z7TeXDBEYoLYJmwjRuSxW08wgc8hpD-ZpYR4i9PD2GJPgNsmHaAH5VhxyTH9Asha5qqrxEG6VWSapfYQQnj6Sj6kSd9Y4cTHao6iwpKzds4NP5IHz/s1600/IMG_1228_low_res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_JHoB9FYjwq4eXVJZVYKjhVqC94Z7TeXDBEYoLYJmwjRuSxW08wgc8hpD-ZpYR4i9PD2GJPgNsmHaAH5VhxyTH9Asha5qqrxEG6VWSapfYQQnj6Sj6kSd9Y4cTHao6iwpKzds4NP5IHz/s320/IMG_1228_low_res.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Alan Doo, STFC</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfc;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-2431988320859970982012-08-21T10:44:00.000+01:002012-08-21T10:44:04.173+01:00First radar light for KAIRAWell done to our colleagues at KAIRA (Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array) - the LOFAR-based project in Finland - who last Friday achieved their first radar light.<br>
Using the EISCAT VHF transmitter at Ramsfjordmoen, near Tromsø, Norway, they transmitted a single 1.28ms long pulse. Using the multi-beam capability of the LOFAR-KAIRA system, they pointed at 31 common volumes along the transmission path and detected weak ionospheric plasma scatter. They have also now detected space debris and meteor echoes too.<br>
Their initial spectrum is shown below. More information can be found on the <a href="http://kaira.sgo.fi">KAIRA website</a>.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPHVvQF8eR-SYALz2e6upv9SPUsnZfv_HZ27lZVj8GzS_iHSSDy-cWW3eZJM_PvtIBsaI-fuTs9O4FeOlQXFejZVnTIXKwiIetyhC2zziETUvoWOQYIGz7qA9uEhQ1Jd-KRWMm_pQ38c/s1600/spec-000002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="288" width="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPHVvQF8eR-SYALz2e6upv9SPUsnZfv_HZ27lZVj8GzS_iHSSDy-cWW3eZJM_PvtIBsaI-fuTs9O4FeOlQXFejZVnTIXKwiIetyhC2zziETUvoWOQYIGz7qA9uEhQ1Jd-KRWMm_pQ38c/s1600/spec-000002.png" /></a></div>
LOFAR-UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00101817189788262063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-71435551686349674382012-08-14T12:09:00.000+01:002012-09-20T16:40:47.035+01:00LOFAR at the International Astronomical Union MeetingThe International Astronomical Union (IAU) <a href="http://www.astronomy2012.org/dct/page/1">General Assembly meeting</a> is happening soon in Beijing, China (a bit like the Olympics of Astronomy in a way - for example it happens every 3 years, the offical language is French, and it brings the worlds best together to showcase their skills - we don't compete for medals though!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQbf0SHCpTkARVshh8gNXxcaN1pU2TCGdtO13pxCRq7Malgx3qnZQ2IQC-3h71S_aZwyr8CmpgY_mJuPNX5yFsPwJcXNO87S9LrhXzkJimaExbe3t03PIRziqxPKFgtr1OTwsrmla2ZAb/s1600/IAU2012.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="67" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQbf0SHCpTkARVshh8gNXxcaN1pU2TCGdtO13pxCRq7Malgx3qnZQ2IQC-3h71S_aZwyr8CmpgY_mJuPNX5yFsPwJcXNO87S9LrhXzkJimaExbe3t03PIRziqxPKFgtr1OTwsrmla2ZAb/s320/IAU2012.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anyway, LOFAR is going to be well represented at this IAU GA meeting, and below I list some of the talks on LOFAR science I have noticed on the program. LOFAR talks will appear in several different sessions demonstrating the diversity of science which is already coming out of LOFAR:<br />
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SpS4: "New Era for studying Interstellar and Intergalactic Magnetic Fields"<br />
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IAUS291: "Neutron Stars and Pulsars"<br />
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JD1: "The Highest Energy Gamma-Ray Universe Observed with Cerenkov Telecope Array Projects"<br />
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and also some of the technical challenges we are learning to face thanks to the data volumes of LOFAR:<br />
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SpS5: "Data Intensive Astronomy".<br />
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Here's the full LOFAR programme I've found so far:<br />
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<div class="p1">
Mon 20th August</div>
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11.20am Anna Sciafe - LOFAR and SKA for Magnetism Science</div>
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11.35am Vlad Kondratiev (for Ben Stappers) - New results from LOFAR </div>
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Tue 21st August</div>
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11am - Heino Falcke - LOFAR in the era of Cerenkov Telescope Arrays</div>
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<div class="p1">
Wed 22nd August </div>
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4pm Heino Falcke - Accretion and outflow in the local universe - first results from LOFAR</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Thur 23rd August </div>
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<span class="s1">11.55am Annalisa Bonafede - </span>Radio relics and magnetic field amplification in the ICM</div>
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3pm Thijs Coenen - LOFAR commissioning pulsar surveys</div>
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3.15pm Heino Falcke - FRATs: Searching for fast radio transients in real time with LOFAR</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Fri 24th August</div>
<div class="p1">
11.00am Joeri van Leeuwen</div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">12.00pm Vlad Kondratiev - </span>Pulsar Emission at the Bottom-End of the Electromagnetic Spectrum</div>
<div class="p2">
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
Wed 29th August</div>
<div class="p1">
11am - Panagiotis Lampropoulos - Analysis of LOFAR EoR data on a GPU Cluster</div>
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2pm Michael Wise - Exascale Data Management with LOFAR (I)</div>
Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-26742499188918224322012-08-09T15:32:00.001+01:002012-08-09T15:32:42.653+01:00Feedback from LOFAR Talk at Winchester Science FestivalWe received some lovely feedback about Dr. Anna Scaife's talk on LOFAR from the Winchester Science Festival which I wanted to share.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I’d like to say a huge thank you to Dr. Anna Scaife for her talk about LOFAR at the Winchester Science Festival. It was really fantastic !"<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"The whole weekend was a triumph for the organisers and being able to hear talks from so many scientists about their work was simply joyful."<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"LOFAR is of particular interest to me [] and it was great to have my question about the arrangement of the low band antennas answered with technical detail."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were also sent these images of Anna in full flow of her talk. Image credits<span style="font-family: inherit;">: </span>Dave Hughes, President of the Hampshire Skeptics Society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-91993464250354791152012-08-09T10:01:00.000+01:002012-08-09T10:01:13.604+01:00LOFAR-UK on the (Bing) MapFrom the KAIRA Project Blog: the <a href="http://kaira.sgo.fi/2012/08/lofar-station-uk608.html">LOFAR-UK station at Chilbolton now appears on the satellite images</a> used by the <a href="http://www.bing.com/maps">Bing Maps</a>.<br />
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<div id="mapviewer">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" id="map" scrolling="no" src="http://www.bing.com/maps/embed/?v=2&cp=51.144391~-1.435553&lvl=16&dir=0&sty=h&eo=0&where1=Chilbolton%2C%20Hants&form=LMLTEW&pp=51.155059814453125~-1.4436299800872803&emid=bcdc0869-9b7a-35e6-2bf8-df66e2b09260" width="500"></iframe><br />
<div id="LME_maplinks" style="line-height: 20px;">
<a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=51.144391~-1.435553&lvl=16&dir=0&sty=h&eo=0&where1=Chilbolton%2C%20Hants&form=LMLTEW" id="LME_largerMap" style="margin: 0 7px;" target="_blank">View Larger Map</a><a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=51.144391~-1.435553&lvl=16&dir=0&sty=h&eo=0&where1=Chilbolton%2C%20Hants&form=LMLTEW&rtp=%7Epos.51.144391_-1.4355530000000005_Test%20Valley" id="LME_directions" style="margin: 0 7px;" target="_blank">Driving Directions</a></div>
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Nice to see. :)<br />
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For the contrasting view, Google Maps currently has <a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.142949,-1.435915">only empty fields at the same location</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCOP6vIhKvP49DlOy-ouByBIsF2YE2GGwQdnG27mA_FMBAZdIxX8MA5m-fiLXJntB5qcUObACFejHuY5UJLRYnDTKWqbtY8ECNZhGHsYIEutopThYEnr2HcUEwPDdGZQdoDzjgHW6J7Sc/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguCOP6vIhKvP49DlOy-ouByBIsF2YE2GGwQdnG27mA_FMBAZdIxX8MA5m-fiLXJntB5qcUObACFejHuY5UJLRYnDTKWqbtY8ECNZhGHsYIEutopThYEnr2HcUEwPDdGZQdoDzjgHW6J7Sc/s400/Picture+1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-11138576001389969992012-07-24T11:33:00.001+01:002012-07-24T11:33:18.132+01:00July - a good time to install a LOFAR stationTwo years about LOFAR-UK was <a href="http://blog.lofar-uk.org/search/label/installation">blogging about installing our station</a> (with much thanks to Derek for such regular updates).<br />
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Last year I gave <a href="http://blog.lofar-uk.org/2011/07/blogging-about-installing-lofar-station.html">instructions on how to relive this</a> by following the live installations in Finland (HBAs) and Sweden.<br />
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The Swedish array was <a href="http://lofar-se.org/?p=406">opened in October 2011</a>, but the short summers in Finland, mean the rest of the Finnish station is being installed this year.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">So again the <a href="https://twitter.com/KairaProject">@KAIRAProject</a> are working hard installing their low band antennas (LBAs) and <a href="http://kaira.sgo.fi/">live blogging</a> and tweeting the experience. </span><br />
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Here's their progress of LBA installation as of Friday (colours indicate installation on different days).<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Keep up the good work, and e</span><span style="background-color: white;">njoy. </span>Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-20866503526213474902012-07-06T12:17:00.000+01:002012-07-06T12:17:13.324+01:00International LOFAR Telescopes Call for ProposalASTRON today released the first <a href="http://www.astron.nl/radio-observatory/observing-proposals/regular-proposal-call-instructions/regular-proposal-call-instr">open call for proposals</a> to use the International LOFAR Telescope.<br />
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<br />Karen Mastershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12941003369342300418noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4241874646371127946.post-59912685299812535302012-07-05T17:36:00.000+01:002012-07-09T10:45:55.768+01:00Lofar Planetarium shows at the University of Southampton's community day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa1-q6tsb4KZpBCKKCifc_e7zny2grcyFEUCOAKnTADC3cf2aiBmNvQT7Wz8H7Hq4ARFpE26Gosy7FgLVETcdzPpmBK-u3IW0zDlX12ILZET4K6ALUfKB37wLrxYrmRC1Fr2WWfL1hLCb/s1600/lofardome.jpg-large" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMa1-q6tsb4KZpBCKKCifc_e7zny2grcyFEUCOAKnTADC3cf2aiBmNvQT7Wz8H7Hq4ARFpE26Gosy7FgLVETcdzPpmBK-u3IW0zDlX12ILZET4K6ALUfKB37wLrxYrmRC1Fr2WWfL1hLCb/s320/lofardome.jpg-large" /></a></div>
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As part of the University's 60@60 Community day on Saturday 30th June 2012 the Soton Astrodome team, lead by myself (Sadie Jones) put on 5- 1 hour long LOFAR-UK themed planetarium shows for the general public.
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Members of the public were lured into the Physics & Astronomy Department by a 'dummy' lofar antenna outside the building seen below.
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When inside the department members of the public were invited to sit on the mats in our planetarium and watch a 50 minute show. These shows involved watching 4 short videos followed by an interactive tour the night sky above Southampton, including several LOFAR images using the (FREE to download) Stellarium software.
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The first video was an edited version of 'We are Astronomers' which detailed how astronomers in general use the Electromagnetic Spectrum to do exciting astronomy.
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The second video was an edited version of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHexvdaGygk&noredirect=1">What is LOFAR ?</a> video made by ASTRON. In this edited version I focused on the simple and cheap antennas used by LOFAR and it's ability to look at all the sky, all the time. This video also details the use of LOFAR for looking at pulsars, transients and space weather.
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The third video shown was about the building of the LOFAR-UK station in Chilbolton and is introduced by Professor Bob Nichol from Portsmouth. This video also features me (Sadie), as one of the PhD students (aka. free labour) wielding a hammer and attaching the amplifier to an LBA. Featured also are many other PhD students from other Universities such as Portsmouth & Oxford. I end this video along the lines of Professor Bob's final thoughts on aliens with some ominous scary music and an image of a massive aliens. To see the video (made by the Uni of Portsmouth) on youtube click <a href="http://youtu.be/I-wroRGQKeQ">here</a>.
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The fourth and final short film shows the million galaxies imaged by the Sloan digital sky survey. This movie ends by going right out to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at the edge of the observable universe. I explain that lofar will be used for similar radio surveys and will hopefully reveal a further 10 million active galaxies. It will also look at the Epoch of Reionisation, a time just after the big bang (after the CMB radiation) when the Hydrogen from the early universe was starting to form galaxies.
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The interactive Stellarium show featured both optical and lofar images of M87, M101 and the Crab Nebula.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHX06VVPkeZHxSj87TKLBUNtesjBkdRKaZkuCcVuWu1tx9iJZo1wCWSzbILIqK5iBDBoHs0LntEdxjeK0WFx5E4JSxgolU_ht6dP8pZC5SJK64Czrp2qG0qGe_JQS-eqHBi-LYncmbBRZ/s1600/m87.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="256" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioHX06VVPkeZHxSj87TKLBUNtesjBkdRKaZkuCcVuWu1tx9iJZo1wCWSzbILIqK5iBDBoHs0LntEdxjeK0WFx5E4JSxgolU_ht6dP8pZC5SJK64Czrp2qG0qGe_JQS-eqHBi-LYncmbBRZ/s320/m87.png" caption="M87 imaged by LOFAR" /></a></div>
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The first planetarium show which started at 10am was for staff members from the Faculty of Physics and Applied science and their families. The first show included mainly young children with their parents, including Professor Rob Fender and his wife and children.
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The remaining 4 shows (at 11,12,2 & 3pm) were all full to capacity with 30 people in each and contained manily adults with only 10% of the rest of the audience children.
<p> We got asked so many great questions from members of the community and they were all really excited by the fact this 'cheap' radio telescope was both 'local' and doing such exciting astronomy.
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I posed 2 questions to those who came to the show. One question for the adults and another for the children. Some of the best answers to the questions are shown below:
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<b>Question for Adults</b>
<p> <i>What are your thoughts on the LOFAR telescope?</i>
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'Excellent for new astronomy. Great way to Explore"
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'Why didn't 'we' do this earlier ?'
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"I'm stunned by the cooperation of different countries and the extent of the communication & integration from those countries"
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"LOFAR LO GOOD!"
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"What good value this type of Astronomy is!"
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"Good to see what can be done with a reasonable budget with good collaboration across Europe/World"
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"I think the mechanisms that causes jets to be emitted from black holes and neutrons stars is the most interesting thing LOFAR will teach us"
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<b>Question for Children</b>
<p> <i>Have you learnt anything new today? What did you learn?</i>
<p>There is a big telescope in Chile
<p>LOFAR stands for low frequency telescope!
<p>We learnt that there are lots of stars in the galaxy.
<p>Telescopes are great to look at.
<p>I learnt about black holes !
<p> It is so great!
<p>We learnt that black holes are very big!
<p>We learnt about lots of things :)
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The future sees us improving on of this prototype LOFAR planetarium show and then making use of it for other open days and in local schools (probably for A-level and GCSE Astronomy students). We aim to get as many people excited about LOFAR as possible:)LOFAR-UKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00101817189788262063noreply@blogger.com1Southampton, UK50.9097004 -1.404350950.869651399999995 -1.4833149 50.9497494 -1.3253869