Trieste CALLISTO station setup and observations of solar radio bursts

Abstract

The Trieste CALLISTO station ( http://radiosun.oats.inaf.it ) was established in 2012 at the Basovizza Observing Station (45°38′37′' N, 13°52′34 E'', 398 m above MSL) operated by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) - Astronomical Observatory of Trieste (Italy) to study solar radio bursts and the response of the Earth’s ionosphere and geomagnetic field. To date, three ‘Compound Astronomical Low-cost Low frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory’ (CALLISTO) spectrometers have been installed, with the capability of observing in the frequency ranges 45–80 MHz (from 30 December 2014), 220–420 MHz (from 1 June 2012 to 23 October 2012 and from 5 October 2013), 905–1730 MHz (from 30 December 2019). The three receivers are fed respectively by a dipole, log-periodic and cross-dipole antenna. Nominally, frequency spectra are obtained with 4 sweeps per second over in total 600 channels. Here, we describe the Trieste CALLISTO station setup, the local e-Callisto network digital archive, Trieste CALLISTO Radio Bursts Detection and Visualization System available via web and present dynamic spectra of a sample of Type I, II, III, IV and V radio bursts. As an additional feature, we show also its capability to record lightning strikes.