 | Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers
|
|---|
Meetings
2007 Conference Abstracts
Present and Future Radio Spectrum Trends: their impact on radio astronomy
Dr. Andrew Clegg, W4JE, National Science Foundation (keynote speaker)
I spend a lot of my time doing spectrum management on behalf of NSF's radio observatories. Many of the same topics that impact the big observatories (such as Broadband over Power Line (BPL), ultrawideband emitters, unlicensed devices, satellites, the DTV transition) will also impact amateur radio astronomers.
Designing a Tunable LO for ELF Measurements
Paul Oxley, Retired AT&T Microwave Engineer
The paper describes design considerations and results for selection of a tunable L band (950 to 1450 MHz) Local Oscillator (LO) for FFT measurements at Extremely Low Frequencies (ELF) (1 Hz to several KHz with 10 Hz or less resolution). The LO is used for measurements of the Sun's spectrum to determine ELF effects from slowly moving sources within the plasma. Results include evaluation of a free running Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) and a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) controlled VCO with a 10 MHz reference from test sets or a free running Crystal Clock.
A year of Gnu Radio and SDR astrononomy: experience, practice and observations
Marcus Leech, VE3MDL and David Ocame, N1YVV
Bringing new technologies into a field such as amateur radio astronomy can often present challenges and surprises, along with obvious benefits. The authors have been using a GnuRadio-based software-defined radio (SDR) receiver system for total-power and spectral observations in the 21cm band for almost 1 year.
Operation of this system has produced many successful observations at observatory locations in Ontario, Canada, and Connecticut, USA. Operations have not always been trouble-free, and such troubles aren't entirely unfamiliar to users of "conventional" radio astronomy instruments. We share our experience, operating tips, and some typical observations.
Gamma Ray Bursts and Amateur Radio Astronomy
John C. Mannone, Professor of Physics, Hiwassee College
A brief discussion on the mechanisms of the extremely powerful gamma ray burst (GRB) will preface how they are detected. They are typically studied with gamma ray detectors and with optical telescopes because of the light flash often following the burst. Since the high-energy radiation from these GRBs has caused noticeable effects in terrestrial kilometric radio wave propagation, a radio fingerprint might be left in the ionosphere. This paper will examine this hypothesis and determine if there is evidence left by the transient phenomena on the ionosphere.ionosphere's decametric noise floor.
Construction of an Integrated Observation Network: Challenges, Progress and Observations
Tyler Moore, Tamke-Allan Observatory
This talk will discuss the Tamke-Allan Solar Observation Network, put in progress by the Student Society of the Observatory. Among the topics discussed will be the progress of construction, the challenges and set back encountered in attempting to build a network with other individuals and groups, future plans and financial issues (including, yet not limited to the use of the 2006 SARA Grant).
Our Neglected Natural Resources: Conservation of Dark Skies and Radio Spectrum Space
David E. Fields, Heather Fries, Owen Hoffman, Robert Kennedy, John Mannone, William Marshall, and Tyler Moore, Tamke Allan Observatory
Recent experience in working to identify common goals between TAO, a real estate developer, and the local zoning comission suggest approaches that may have application to other areas that involve education and research. These include protecting radio spectrum space and satisfying our need to erect and use antennas and special structures. GIS data tools and GPS data of the local region have been applied extensively to our local challenge, and the results will be shown.
A Celestial Plot of HI and Other Radio Sources
Heather Fries, Tamke-Allan Observatory
Data collected at Tamke-Allan Observatory have been displayed in a novel way that has several advantages over plots communicated using paper and computer screens. The use of true spherical plots using physical models is an ideal way, to commuicate significant quantitative and qualitative features of the data. We will use our recently acquired data to demonstrate the advantages of this technique.
How to Present To a General Audience Group
Jon Wallace, President, Connecticut Association of Physics Teachers
Members who would be interested in creating a presentation for a group of interested "lay persons", but are not sure how to get started/organized might benefit from my walk through of a presentation I developed for an area astronomy club. This presentation is aimed at a very general level audience and is appropriate for most school and local organizations. Participants in this workshop will receive a copy of the talk, descriptions of most of the demonstration devices and ideas on how to adapt the presentation for their specific needs during a question and answer session.
Solar and VLF Observing
Jon Wallace, President, Connecticut Association of Physics Teachers
Two of the easiest radio astronomy projects are solar SID radio and whistler/VLF radio observation. This presentation will walk you through my experiences with both radio projects. I currently use the AAVSO solar radio and report my observations monthly as you can. I also have done some VLF/ whistler radio observing but, since this is only able to be done far from AC power lines, I don't do it often. I will show participants how to do this type of observation as well as show some of my radios. I also have many "professional" audio recordings of the types of events people might hear and I'll describe my experiences with observing using these radios. Lastly, I have an audio tape collected by NASA's Voyager probe at Jupiter and Saturn which will provide a comparison to the sounds from Earth.
Astro-chemistry - A Review of the Contributions of Radio Astronomy
Bruce Lerner
Radio astronomy originally looked for a limited number of phenomena - hydrogen transitions and high energy bursts. The importance of these is that they illuminate the high energy processes that are occurring. These processes provide the energy, however, for chemical reactions. These reactions, which amazingly occur in the vacuum of space, have been shown to form complex molecules, some of which are related to the basic building blocks of life. This paper reviews these reactions and discusses how radio astronomy has located them.
Shouting in the Jungle: the SETI Transmission Debate
H. Paul Shuch, N6TX, Executive Director Emeritus, The SETI League, Inc.
Rigorous SETI research seeks credible scientific evidence of other technological civilizations in space. Throughout its rich history, not one single radio emission of clear and irrefutable intelligent extraterrestrial origin has yet been detected. After nearly fifty years of solitude, SETI proponents ask, might it not be time to break our radio silence, and make some noise from planet Earth? What are the risks, and the benefits, of transmitting into interstellar space? What does international law say about the subject? Just how detectable is Earth's radio footprint, anyway? Hear Dr. SETI ® answer these and other questions, and raise a few of his own.
Carbides if Present in Stellar Dust and Origin-of-Life Precursors
William L. Marshall, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Emeritus)
Acetylene (from CaC2 + H2O) reacts rapidly with NH3 and CO2 in hydrothermal environments (H2 and O2 also present) to produce biological amino acids, amines, and extensive other organics but only above 200oC [Marshall, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 58, 2099 (1994)]. These reactions suggest a mechanism for producing precursors for origin-of-life processes in contrast to the Miller-Urey electrical discharge theory. While water-reactive CaC2 is absent on earth, would it have existed in early (planetary) forming stages and where would it have originated? Stable CaC2 if present in stellar dust near 0 K should not react with water-ice until planetary formation with rising temperature produces liquid water that reacts with CaC2 in forming acetylene and destroying all CaC2. In subsequent hydrothermal environments, acetylene reacting with NH3, CO2, and H2O (perhaps also H2 and O2) would produce extensive amino acids and possibly peptides and related bio-organics. Halfen, Apponi, and Ziurys [The Astrophysical Journal, 577:L67-L70 (Sept. 20, 2002)] observed in the laboratory for the first time rotational transitions for CaC radical in the 247-536 GHz range and suggested that astronomical searches be made. This direction should be strongly pursued. Discovering CaC and/or CaC2 (and other reactive carbides?) in stellar dust could be highly significant in establishing how origin-of-life precursors may have originated.
Scheduling, Automation, and Control in Astronomical Instrumentation
Jasem K. Mutlaq, Kuwait National Radio Observatory - Kuwait Science Club
Heavy computational and acquisition demands on modern astronomical infrastructure require the coordination of numerous devices spreading over systems of different genre and widely separated stations. The instrument-neutral-distributed-interface (INDI) is a powerful scalable protocol for distributed control systems (DCS) aimed at reducing costs, accelerating development, and boosting reliability by providing a flexible generic schema suitable for the control of canonical and non-canonical devices. Due to the extensible nature of INDI, scheduling and automation of astronomical instruments integrates seamlessly with any XML-based framework.
Radio Astronomy at Colorado's Table Mountain
Jamie Riggs, Director, Deep Space Exploration Society
The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) is charged with administering two 18-meter, fully steerable parabolic dish antennas. Other organizations besides DSES such as local university groups are interested in using these dishes for their work. The various use interests include radio receiver theory investigation, satellite down-link service, edge-of-space balloon telemetry, and certainly astronomy. With this amount of interest in the use of these two dishes, how is DSES making them ready and available? We discuss the demographics, history, capabilities, and activities surrounding the Table Mountain antenna site specifically as administered by the Deep Space Exploration Society.
- See also: Revised 2007 Conference Schedule
