A roadmap towards a space-based radio telescope for ultra-low frequency radio astronomy
| Autor: | Bert Monna, S. Engelen, J. Rotteveel, Raj Thilak Rajan, C.J.M. Verhoeven, A. van Veen, Heino Falcke, Eberhard Gill, Mark J. Bentum, Maneesh Verma, Albert-Jan Boonstra, M. Klein Wolt, Leonid I. Gurvits |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Center for Astronomical Instrumentation, Center for Wireless Technology Eindhoven, Electromagnetics, EM for Radio Science Lab |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Atmospheric Science
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Computer science Frequency band Astronomy Aperture synthesis FOS: Physical sciences Aerospace Engineering Nanosatellite 01 natural sciences law.invention Radio telescope Telescope law 0103 physical sciences Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) 010303 astronomy & astrophysics 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Ultra-low frequency radio astronomy Astronomy and Astrophysics LOFAR Geophysics Satellite swarms Space and Planetary Science Physics::Space Physics Ultra-long wavelength astronomy General Earth and Planetary Sciences OLFAR Ionosphere Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Radio wave Radio astronomy |
| Zdroj: | Advances in Space Research, 65, 856-867 Advances in Space Research, 65(2) Advances in Space Research, 65, 2, pp. 856-867 Advances in Space Research, 65(2), 856-867. Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 0273-1177 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.asr.2019.09.007 |
| Popis: | The past two decades saw a renewed interest in low frequency radio astronomy, with a particular focus on frequencies above 30 MHz. However, at frequencies below 30 MHz, Earth-based observations are limited due to a combination of severe ionospheric distortions, almost full reflection of radio waves below 10 MHz, solar eruptions and human-made radio frequency interference (RFI). A space or Lunar-based ultra-low-frequency (or ultra-long-wavelength, ULW) array would suffer significantly less from these limitations and hence would open up the last, virtually unexplored frequency domain in the electromagnetic spectrum. A roadmap has been initiated in order to explore the opportunity of building a swarm of satellites to observe at the frequency band below 30 MHz. This roadmap, dubbed Orbiting Low Frequency Antennas for Radio Astronomy (OLFAR), presents a space-based ultra-low frequency radio telescope that will explore the Universe's so-called dark ages, map the interstellar medium, and study planetary and solar bursts in the solar system and search them in other planetary systems. Such a system will comprise of a swarm of hundreds to thousands of satellites, working together as a single aperture synthesis instrument deployed sufficiently far away from Earth to avoid terrestrial RFI. A number of key technologies of OLFAR are still to be developed and proven. The first step in this roadmap is the NCLE (Netherlands China Low Frequency Explorer) experiment launched in May 2018 on the Chinese Chang'e-4 mission. The NCLE payload consists of a three monopole antenna system from which the first data stream is expected in the second half of 2019, which will provide important feedback for future science and technology opportunities. In this paper, the roadmap towards OLFAR, a brief overview of the science opportunities, and the technological and programmatic challenges of the mission are presented. 28 pages, 2 figures, 5 tables; accepted |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full Text from ScienceDirect