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This report provides updates on the ATCA and Mopra telescopes, including repairs, new equipment, observations, and upcoming events. It also showcases recent papers and scientific discoveries made using these telescopes.
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ATCA/Mopra report ATUC 7 May 2008 Phil Edwards APOD 080310 White & Cozens
Cable damage CA02 and CA05 taken off-line for several days each for repairs
Winged hunters keep cockatoos at bay A wedge-tailed eagle named 'Zorro' has been tethered to the 163-metre roof spire of the Melbourne Arts Centre after cockatoos took a liking to its thimble-size lights, chewing thousands of dollars worth of bulbs. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/15/2163908.htm
CABB • Interim CABB (5 antennas, 1 IF) in parallel with existing system until shutdown next semester • Details of interfacing CABB with current software to be determined • ~25% of 2008APR proposals requested use of CABB • ~45% of 2008APR proposals requested 7mm or 3mm observations • For 08OCT, propose to continue running interim CABB system in parallel with existing correlator until ~6 week shutdown in mid-January. (Call for proposals to be released next week)
2008 April semester N.B. Excludes VLBI
Seeing monitor Two 1.8m fixed dishes on 230m E-W baseline operated at 30.48GHz since May2004
Seemon • Optus B3 satellite being removed from service, has been moved from 152E to 164E • Plans underway to use 21.2 GHz beacon on Optus C1 at 156E • Parts arriving for new system, expected to be in place within a month • Christoph Brem (occupational trainee) playing a big role in this
7mm system • 7mm automatic translators operational • ATCA calibrator database contains 7mm C007 data • UCHII regions being investigated as 7mm and 3mm flux density calibrators Courtesy: Lovell
NASA tracking • Learning curve about real-time self-cal on satellite signal at 32 GHz • Ongoing proficiency test tracks at 8 GHz (Mars) and 32 GHz (Saturn) • First “real” Cassini tracks in July/August 2008 • Possibility of 8 GHz tracking support in the future • CA06 performance being studied • Kepler launch in February 2009 will have impact on 08OCT semester schedule
WVRs • Prototype Water Vapour Radiometers have been installed on CA03 and CA04 for a number of years • ARC LIEF funding received, subject to ATNF PRB approval, to outfit all antennas with improved WVRs
Mopra • UPS replaced over the summer • 7mm receiver added (N.B. can’t centre 8GHz band between 38 and 44 GHz) • HOPS 12mm observing over summer very successful • Telescope Operator Alerting Device (TOAD) in use • Mopra Training Day held in March, presentations available on-line • MOPS era data now being added to ATOA • Mopra position now determined with sub-cm accuracy
Mopra in 08OCT • Call for proposals to be released next week • Limited 3mm observing over the summer • Based on our experiences with the HOPS project, large proposals at 12mm (and 7mm?) encouraged
ATCA Science Day • Wednesday 11 June • All astronomers are invited to come and give science talks about the important projects they envisage doing with the Australia Telescope Compact Aarray (ATCA) in the next 5 years and beyond. • See ATNF What’s On pages for more details
Narrabri Open Day --- Saturday July 19th, 2008. All welcome! Credit: M. Dahlem
8th Synthesis Imaging School to be held 29th Sep – 3rd Oct, 2008
Recent papers • The Origin of the Infrared Emission in Radio Galaxies. I. New Mid- to Far-Infrared and Radio Observations of the 2 Jy Sample • Detection of the H92α recombination line from the starbursts in the Circinus galaxy and NGC 1808 • The extragalactic radio-source population at 95GHz • Multibeam maser survey of methanol and excited OH in the Magellanic Clouds: new detections and maser abundance estimates • Bright Giant Pulses from the Crab Nebula Pulsar: Statistical Properties, Pulse Broadening, and Scattering Due to the Nebula • Deep Australia Telescope Large Area Survey Radio Observations of the European Large Area ISO Survey S1/SPITZER Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic Field • Detection of amino acetonitrile in Sgr B2(N) • ATCA 3 mm observations of NGC 6334I and I(N): dense cores, outflows, and an UCH II region • The radio lighthouse CU Virginis: the spin-down of a single main-sequence star • HI mapping of galaxies in six Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study groups • The sensitivity of the next generation of lunar Cherenkov observations to UHE neutrinos and cosmic rays • The magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408: radio spectrum, polarimetry, and timing • An Interaction of a Magellanic Leading Arm High-Velocity Cloud with the Milky Way Disk