Abstract
The LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a new radio interferometer that consists of an array of stations. Each of them is a phase array of dipole antennas. LOFAR stations are distributed mostly in the Netherlands, but also throughout Europe. In the article we discuss the possibility of using this instrument for solar and space weather studies, as well as ionosphere investigations. We are expecting that in the near future the LOFAR telescope will bring some interesting observations and discoveries in these fields. It will also help to observe solar active events that have a direct influence on the near-Earth space weather.
Highlights
The science program of LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is very broad and is organized in “Key Science Projects”
In this paper we will focus on solar physics and space weather, as well as ionosphere studies by LOFAR
LOFAR will improve the understanding of the solar drivers of the ionosphere by simultaneously measuring the solar radio burst and the total electron content (TEC) (Gaussiran II et al 2004)
Summary
The science program of LOFAR is very broad and is organized in “Key Science Projects” (hereafter called KSP). The LOFAR telescope (www.lofar.org), designed and constructed by ASTRON (the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy), was officially inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix in June 2010 It is a large radio interferometer operating in the frequency range 10-240 MHz (corresponding to wavelengths of 30.0-1.2 m). The lack of receiver in the frequency range 90-110 MHz is a result of using two different frontends systems (LBA and HBA) and incomparably more electromagnetic interferences (EMI) observed in this radio band Both LBA and HBA consist of 48 or 96 elements per station. In the case of independent observations, with the use of only three Polish stations (as a separate interferometer), the angular resolution will be around 0.5 arcsec for 240 MHz (Báaszkiewicz et al 2016, van Haarlem et al 2013). For typical observations by LOFAR telescope we use 256 channels per subband and we obtain a maximum time resolution of 1.3 ms. Some additional information about the technical aspects of LOFAR can be found in Báaszkiewicz et al (2016)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
