Introductory Radio Astronomy and SETI

Unit Code: HET608

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

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Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Graduate Certificate of Science (Astronomy), Graduate Diploma of Science (Astronomy) and Master of Science (Astronomy).

Aims & Objectives:

Aims
This Unit will provide an overview of both single- and multiple-dish radio astronomy and their applications, plus a study of the history, principles, techniques and societal issues of an area where radio astronomy plays a key part of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Objectives
After successfully completing this Unit, students should be able to:
• understand the basic principles and techniques of single- and multi-dish astronomy;
• describe common sources of astronomical radio emission and have an awareness of the major areas of radio astronomy research;
• understand the historical background and societal context of the search for extra-terrestrial life, and, in particular, the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI);
• appreciate both general principles and key technical issues involved in SETI;
• discuss the basic principles and concepts underlying both radio astronomy in general and SETI in particular in a non-technical way understandable to the wider public;
• recognise the social and scientific implications of the search for extra-terrestrial life in general and SETI in particular, and also of campaigns to build new generations of radio astronomy facilities.
• research an astronomy topic in depth, using dependable sources of astronomical information on the internet.

Teaching Methods:

Online Delivery Mode, Contact via Newsgroup and Email

Assessment:

Assessable newsgroup contributions, essay , online tests  and project 

Content:

• The electromagnetic spectrum and radio waves; the sky at radio wavelengths; a brief history of radio astronomy
• Radio emission: line emission & continuum emission; thermal and non-thermal emission: Blackbody radiation, synchrotron and maser emission
• Sources of radio emission: radio sources in the Solar System and the Milky Way; radio emission in the local and distance Universe; radio surveys and case-study HIPASS, an HI all-sky survey
• Single-dish radio astronomy: optical versus radio astronomy, properties of single-dish telescopes: beams, mounts, drives, receivers, amplifiers; sidelobes, flux density, bandwidth, sensitivity
• Fourier transforms and digitising radio signals; backends, feeds, amplifiers, correlators
• Multi-dish radio astronomy: interferometry, arrays and aperture synthesis; resolving power, signal-to-noise, array design, source visibility and the u-v plane; VLBI and space VLBI
• Imaging and analysis: single-dish data & multi-dish analysis and image reconstruction; raw data, calibration, imaging, deconvolution, mosaicing
• Radio astronomy case studies: VLBI and pulsar astronomy; interference; amateur radio astronomy
• The future of radio astronomy: millimetre astronomy; SKA
• Introduction to SETI: what is SETI? Are we alone and where to look? The Drake equation, habitable zones, intelligence versus technology, lifetimes, extrasolar planets
• How to look: planning a SETI search: all-sky versus targeted searches; where to look and at what wavelength; examples of past, present and future SETI searches; technical aspects of SETI signals: differential Doppler, waterfall plots, interference and how to avoid it

Textbooks:

An Introduction to Radio Astronomy, Burke & Graham-Smith, 3rd edition, 2009 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press), ISBN-13: 9780521878081 (hb)

Recommended Reading: