LOFAR Array configuration

An overview of the geographical location (in Google maps) of the stations can be found here:

Core Stations

The core stations are placed in a 2-3 km area close to Exloo. A layout of where the various stations are located, is shown in Figure 1. More locations are prepared than actual stations are placed in this phase of LOFAR. The "superterp" is situated in the heart of LOFAR and consists of 6 stations in a circle with a diameter of 320m.

Figure 1: LOFAR core stations: grey - operational stations white- locations for possible future stations. Note: Core stations CS103 (~1.7 km due west of the superterp) and CS302 (~2 km south-west of the superterp) do not appear on this map.

Remote Stations

The remote stations are distributed over the Netherlands with a maximum distance to the core of about 80 km. A rough overview of the locations of the remote stations is given in the Figure below.

There are still uncertainties in the location of a couple of stations due to planning permissions.

International Stations

Eight international stations are currently (early 2012) operational. They are in Germany: Effelsberg (DE601), Unterweilenbach (near Garching/Munich, DE602), Tautenburg (DE603), Potsdam-Bornim (DE604), Jülich (DE605), in the UK: Chilbolton (UK608), in France: Nançay (FR606) and in Sweden: Onsala (SE607). An overview of their location is given below.

Current Status

Currently (early 2012) there 33 stations operational in the Netherlands (24 core and 9 remote stations) and 8 international stations operational in Germany (5), the UK (1), France (1) and Sweden (1). The remaining 7 remote stations in the Netherlands are in various stages of preparation and the majority of them is expected to be operational by the end of 2012.

The progress can be monitored at http:/www/aston.nl/radio-observatory/astronomers/current-status

Station Naming

The names of the stations are selected such that CS in the name means that they have two HBA fields rather than one. They are located either directly in the core area or nearby.

The RS in a station name denotes a remote station with only one HBA field and it is located in the Netherlands.

For international stations the appropriate country code is used. The numbers in a station name are somewhat historic but are unique for a station.