A new window on the universe, this is what the LOFAR radio telescope hopes to offer through a network of 7 000 small antennas spread across 45 stations in the north east of the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France and Sweden. Enthusiastic astronomers and engineers will be looking to LOFAR to help answer age old questions about the origins and evolution of the Universe.
- 04 January 2010
LOFAR is a cutting-edge, low-frequency, multi-field aperture array telescope that is using innovative technologies and novel software approaches. This telescope has very recently started producing unique data in a relatively unexplored spectral window.
The LOFAR project is being led by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, ASTRON, and forms part of the organisation’s plans for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project to build the world’s biggest radio telescope capable of shedding light on such things as gamma-ray bursts, extrasolar planets and dark matter. Sensor technology is another rapidly developing field with a broad range of potential applications, from agriculture and healthcare to traffic management and oil production.
Astronomy at low frequencies
LOFAR is a multi-purpose sensor array whose main application is astronomy at low frequencies (10-250 MHz). An array of telescopes made up of many relatively inexpensive antennas are organised in aperture array stations located in the north of the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France and Sweden. A wide area network connects these stations with the central processing facility and a Blue Gene/P supercomputer processes the data at the University of Groningen.
What sets LOFAR apart from traditional telescopes is its flexibility. Instead of the traditional mechanical signal processing with a dish antenna, LOFAR detects the incoming signals using an array of simple omni-directional antennas, the electronic signals from which are digitised.
This is why LOFAR is also referred to as a software radio telescope. Innovative information and communication technology hardware has been developed to reduce and manage the huge amounts of data streaming from the antennas (roughly 10 Tbit/s).
Other sensors are also being attached to the shared networking and processing facilities. Geophones and infrasound sensors for geophysical studies, as well as other dedicated sensors to monitor the climate in crops and the movements of animals for precision agriculture. Further sensors and/or applications may follow.
Stimulating local business
LOFAR has stimulated local businesses to invest in technology development. This has resulted in 12 collaboration agreements with companies that were active in the R&D phase of the project. These investments have led to an increase of the level of expertise and competitiveness of these companies.
LOFAR will look for signs of the first stars and galaxies in the very early Universe. It will detect and study the highest energy cosmic ray protons, the very existence of which theoreticians cannot explain – thereby providing essential physical information not otherwise available.