Second-Generation Starlink Satellites Leak 30 Times More Radio Interference, Threatening Astronomical Observations
Observations with the LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) radio telescope last year showed that first generation Starlink satellites emit unintended radio waves that can hinder astronomical observations. New observations with the LOFAR radio telescope, the biggest radio telescope on Earth observing at low frequencies, have shown that the second generation ’V2-mini’ Starlink satellites emit up to 32 times brighter unintended radio waves than satellites from the previous generation, potentially blinding radio telescopes and crippling vital research of the Universe.
European grant allows ASTRON astronomer Joe Callingham to study the space weather of other worlds
Dr Joe Callingham has received an ERC Starting Grant worth 1.5 million euros.
Top marks for ASTRON
ASTRON has been assessed by the Strategy Evaluation Protocol (SEP) committee as a research institute that produces excellent research both on astronomy and in technology and innovations.
Women Astronomers Day 2024
Today, August 1st, marks Women Astronomers Day. Throughout history women astronomers have played a vital role in the development of astronomy and have made important astronomical discoveries.
HTSM Students built a LoRaWAN based Magnetometer
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These students usually come from faculties that have nothing to do with astronomy or electrical engineering.
This year's group was given the assignment to build a 3-axis magnetometer to measure fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field in order to predict the occurrence of auroras.
The data could complement LOFAR's solar observations when placed near LOFAR fields.
Therefore, the measurement data should be transmitted via low-power LoRaWAN technology (868 MHz) and a station should operate autonomously in the field.
The result of the work with the proud makers, Daniel, Dimitris, Kantert and Zoro (not shown here) can be seen in the picture below.
The tube with three fluxgate magnetometers is inserted about one meter deep into the ground.
Inside the box is an Arduino with LoRaWAN capabilities, a LiPo battery and a charging circuit to charge the battery via the small solar panel on the top.
The data is sent to a LoRaWAN gateway (which can be up to 10 km away) and then via intranet to a server with an IoT stack stores it in an Influxdb database and visualises the sensor data in Grafana.
Open Dag: 6 oktober/Open Day: October 6th
Sun 06 Oct 2024
English follows Dutch Bezoek ons tijdens onze open dag op 6 oktober Hoe klinkt een dode ster? Hoe maak je onzichtbaar licht zichtbaar? Hoe werkt een zwart gat? Waarom kun je met een radiotelescoop terug in de tijd kijken? Achter al deze en nog veel meer interessante dingen kom je tijdens onze open dag […]