Daily Image
08-03-2016
This year's Kluyver Visitor: Imke de Pater
| Submitter: | Jan Noordam |
| Description: | Prof Imke de Pater (Berkeley) will be paying us regular visits this year, in the context of ASTRON's Helena Kluyver Female Visitor Programme(*). Among other things, she is taking this opportunity to reduce a unique set of simultaneous observations (in 2013) of Jupiter with the WSRT (MFFE, 6, 21, 35 and 92cm) and LOFAR (LBA and HBA). This will produce an unusually wide spectrum (50-5000 MHz) that can be used to test new (and old) radiation models of our ruling planet. The polarization information will help to separate Jupiter's thermal (atmospheric) and non-thermal (magnetosphere) emissions. Imke was the first to image Jupiter's radio emission with the WSRT, as part of her Leiden thesis in the late 70's. Since Jupiter moves w.r.t. the background sky, and rapidly rotates around its axis, this challenged the WSRT observation and data reduction systems considerably. After this success, she has been studying Solar System objects ever since (Her own model of Jupiter's radio emission has stood for 20 years). She recently served as department chair in Berkeley. The picture shows her reducing the WSRT data, assisted by Richard Strom and Ger de Bruyn. The latter is wielding the rapier of NEWSTAR, still the ablest data reduction system for WSRT data (until APERTIF comes along, of course). The associated LOFAR data is being reduced by Julien Girard (Paris). Imke will be back in Dwingeloo in May, hopefully accompanied by her long-time significant other Wil van Breugel. The latter has also used the WSRT extensively in the past, but always refused to visit the instrument itself, for largely superstitious reasons. (*) For more information about the Helena Kluyver Female Visitor programme: http://www.astron.nl/astronomy-group/female-visitor-programme/helena-kluyver-female-visitor-programme http://www.astron.nl/astronomy-group/female-visitor-programme/visitors/visitors |
| Copyright: | Zsolt Paragi |
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