News Overview
People of ASTRON: Emanuela Orrù
In People of ASTRON we share stories about the people at ASTRON. Who are the people behind the discoveries and innovations and also, who are the people that make sure that everything runs smoothly? In this second part of the series, we’ll be sharing the story of Emanuela Orrù, support scientist at ASTRON since 2012.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Live warning system to study solar eruptions
The Sun’s activity appears not only in the well-known 11-year Sunspot cycle, but also in short duration eruptions as flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Habitability of alien worlds
The Earth receives its life-sustaining energy from Sunlight, but “explosions” on the Sun can also be life-threatening. Explosions on the Sun’s surface, called flares, can spew out large masses of plasma and harmful radiation towards the planets.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Cranking up LOFAR’s robustness
In order to receive radio signals from across the Universe, LOFAR needs to be very sensitive. The downside of that sensitivity is susceptibility to radio interference: other sources that produce radio signals that LOFAR detects, but does not want to measure.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: LOFAR expands to Italy
In 2018, Italy officially joined the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) and in the near future the LOFAR station in Italy will become operational.
Nearest fast radio burst source is regularly active
An international team of astronomers, including a number of Dutch researchers, has discovered that a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source becomes active about every sixteen days.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: A new specification and scheduling system
In 2021, ASTRON will deliver TMSS (Telescope Manager Specification System), which is a brand-new platform for the specification, administration, and scheduling of LOFAR observations.
ASTRON recognises and protects diversity as the key against discrimination
ASTRON is an international research organisation that is committed to achieving a fair and welcoming work environment for all. This commitment is clearly expressed in the Dwingeloo code of conduct.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: High-precision clock to all Dutch stations
In the LOFAR radio telescope, the observation data is synchronized over time for accurate processing of the received signals. Until now, the telescope uses GPS techniques to synchronize the observation data, achieving an accuracy between 1 ns and 10 ns.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Detecting SMBH particles
Supermassive black holes can leave a trail of energetic particles that astronomers are able to detect using radio telescopes.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: A brain transplant for LOFAR
If the antennae of LOFAR are the senses of the radio telescope, then the central correlator is its brain. It is the place where all the data streams come together and are converted into astronomy data.
What we look forward to in LOFAR 2.0: Simultaneous LBA and HBA observing
LOFAR uses two types of antennas. Each type listens to different wavelengths of the radio spectrum. Different wavelengths provide complementary information about the Universe and its constituents.