Image courtesy NRAO/AUI
Marcus' Radio Astronomy Page
For
the last several years, I've been conducting experiments in Radio
Astronomy of increasing sophistication. My most recent technical
activities, involving design of a Software Radio based on GnuRadio, can be found here, and here. These were presented at the 2006 Annual SARA meeting in Green Bank, WV.
A screenshot of the continuum/spectral application is here.
A screenshot of the SETI application is here.
The software described above is used in concert with a 12ft dish, with elevation control covering declinations from -30 to +70. Here's the dish, pointed at DEC +12:23:
Note the cylindrical feedhorn--it's longer than is usual because I had to extend it to hit the focal point of the dish. The feed-support arms are from another dish with a focal point further out by about 70cm. The cover is a fibreglass radome from a naval radar antenna.
The dish positioner is a new 36" Eagle-Aspen heavy-duty (1200lb thrust) linear actuator. This actuator is controlled using a Pansat AP-600 positioner, shown here:
Eventually, computer control of the dish position will be implemented. The receiver, based on a USRP with a DBS_RX receiver daughtercard, is kept in a styrofoam cooler, surrounded by gel-packs to maintain a constant temperature, and thus constant gain--note the electronic thermometer to monitor receiver temperature:
A system diagram is given below:
There have been several early results with this setup, including both spectral and continuum data.
Here's a nice 21cm continuum plot of Sagittarius A:
Here's a 21cm Continuum plot of the Cygnus A region, showing a comparison with a similar plot from the Univerity of Indianapolis:
Here's a spectral plot of a region in the Cygnus arm of the galaxy:
A gallery of recent plots can be found here.
A screenshot of the continuum/spectral application is here.
A screenshot of the SETI application is here.
The software described above is used in concert with a 12ft dish, with elevation control covering declinations from -30 to +70. Here's the dish, pointed at DEC +12:23:
Note the cylindrical feedhorn--it's longer than is usual because I had to extend it to hit the focal point of the dish. The feed-support arms are from another dish with a focal point further out by about 70cm. The cover is a fibreglass radome from a naval radar antenna.
The dish positioner is a new 36" Eagle-Aspen heavy-duty (1200lb thrust) linear actuator. This actuator is controlled using a Pansat AP-600 positioner, shown here:
Eventually, computer control of the dish position will be implemented. The receiver, based on a USRP with a DBS_RX receiver daughtercard, is kept in a styrofoam cooler, surrounded by gel-packs to maintain a constant temperature, and thus constant gain--note the electronic thermometer to monitor receiver temperature:
A system diagram is given below:
There have been several early results with this setup, including both spectral and continuum data.
Here's a nice 21cm continuum plot of Sagittarius A:
Here's a 21cm Continuum plot of the Cygnus A region, showing a comparison with a similar plot from the Univerity of Indianapolis:
Here's a spectral plot of a region in the Cygnus arm of the galaxy:
A gallery of recent plots can be found here.