Arduino-based high-frequency radio telescope and observations

Abstract

This is a pilot project undertaken by the UG and PG students of the Department of Physics, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata under the supervision of Dr. Suparna Roychowd hury and Dr. Shibaji Banerjee and with the assistance of Mr. Bappaditya Manna, Technical Officerof Father Eugene Lafont Observatory (FELO) on building a low-cost high-frequency radiotelescope using Arduino. This paper presents the design of the smallArduino-based radio telescope recently developed by the group to observe radio emission at high frequencies (12-18GHz)and the initialobservations including detection of geostationary andnon-geostationary satellites. Preliminary results demonstrate the effectiveness of this Arduino-based radio telescope in the eraof large radio telescopes that are inaccessible to students. As the radio telescope operates in ahigh-frequency range, it is easier to observe in city areas where Radio Frequency Interference(RFI) is a significant issue. The system can be pointed either manually or using a computerized mount to any radio source and data can be collected from a satellite finder as well asfrom Arduino micro-controller. This system can be used for a basic understanding of radioastronomy and for training purposes for University and College students at a very lowcost. Further, we would also like to extend this to a two-element radio interferometer andundertake interferometric observations of astronomical radio sources in future.