Radio Astronomy at CAS
CAS members have recently brought radio astronomy back to CAS in the form of two programs: SIDs (Sudden Ionosphere Disturbances) and Radio Jove. CAS members have banded together to bring their love of seeing into the invisible spectrum to our membership and these programs are fast becoming favorites of our membership. The teams have meetings regularly to discuss equipment, events, and observations, and are constantly tweaking and adding to their capabilities.
To learn more about these programs see each section below.
The Sudden Ionosphere Disturbances Observing Program
The SIDs program began at Stanford University for the purpose of engaging astronomers around the world, to empower and enable them to participate in the monitoring of space weather, through the use of inexpensive ionospheric monitors. This enables observers to record solar flares and other events that disturb the ionosphere.
From the Stanford website:
”Earth's ionosphere reacts strongly to the intense X-ray and ultraviolet radiation released by the Sun during a solar flare. By using a receiver to monitor the signal strength from distant VLF transmitters, and noting unusual changes as the waves bounce off the ionosphere, students around the world can directly monitor and track these Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances (SIDs).”
CAS members building the SIDs array
CAS has implemented a SIDs program for member use. Our members now have the ability to monitor disturbances in the ionosphere to provide citizen science data on these disturbances. Members hold regular meetings to acquire and discuss data and the science behind the program.
Radio Jove
CAS has implemented a Radio Jove program for our members to engage in. The Radio JOVE program is a citizen science initiative set up by NASA to monitor the radio emissions of Jupiter, the sun, and our galaxy.
From the NASA Radio JOVE page:
”Jupiter, the Sun, the Earth’s Ionosphere, and the Milky Way galaxy all produce radio signals that you can detect from your backyard. Radio JOVE helps students and amateurs build their own radio telescopes and tune in to these signals. Participants may assemble and operate their own 16-24 MHz radio spectrographs and collect data for multiple science projects.”
CAS members have formed a team which constructed the array at CAS headquarters to perform the monitoring. Regular meetings are held to discuss the findings and bring new members up to speed on the program.
The CAS Radio JOVE array
The CAS radio telescope observatories. SIDs (foreground), Radio JOVE (in the back), and the 6-foot CAS radio dish (future service).