- ASTRON
ASTRON is the Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy. ASTRON is an abbreviation of the Dutch Stichting ASTRonomisch Onderzoek in Nederland. This translates to NFRA in English, which is sometimes used to refer to ASTRON in English texts. Its main offices are in
Dwingeloo at the site of theDwingeloo Radio Observatory , m.Westerveld , in the northeasternNetherlands . ASTRON operates under the umbrella of the Dutch national research council, NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek).Goals
ASTRON's goal is to enable discovery in astronomy. To this end ASTRON provides front-line observing capabilities for Dutch and international astronomers across a broad range of frequencies and techniques. This strategy is expected to regularly result in astronomical discoveries that significantly affect our understanding of the content, the structure and the evolution of the Universe.
ASTRON's program has three principal elements:
*The operation of front line observing facilities, including especially theWesterbork Synthesis Radio Telescope andLOFAR ,
* The pursuit of fundamental astronomical research using ASTRON facilities, together with a broad range of other telescopes around the world and space-borne instruments (e.g. Sptizer, HST etc.)
*A strong technology development program, encompassing both innovative instrumentation for existing telescopes and the new technologies needed for future facilities.In addition, ASTRON is active in the international science policy arena.
Recently, ASTRON, together with German firm
EADS Astrium Space Transportation , has started promoting a new Moon project called LIFE.Observing facilities
Radiotelescopes
ASTRON operates the
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. The WSRT andLOFAR - in the near future- are dedicated to explore the universe at radio frequencies from 8 GHz down to 10 MHz. In addition to its use as a stand-alone radio telescope, the Westerbork array participates in the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (EVN) of radio telescopes. ASTRON is the host institute for the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE ). Its primary task is to operate the EVN MkIV VLBI Data Processor (correlator).JIVE also provides a high-level of support to astronomers and the Telescope Network.ASTRON is also the host for the
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project and parts of the LOPES Project.At the Auger observatory in Chile, ASTRON is aiding the construction of a detector network to observe the radiation from cosmic particles.
Optical telescopes
In collaboration with the
United Kingdom andSpain , ASTRON runs the optical telescopes of the Isaac Newton Group onLa Palma : the 4.2-m diameterWilliam Herschel Telescope (WHT), the 2.5-mIsaac Newton Telescope (INT), and until its closure in2003 , theJacobus Kapteyn Telescope . In collaboration with theUnited Kingdom andCanada , ASTRON also runs theJames Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii. This is the largest astronomical telescope (15m) in the world designed specifically to operate in the submillimeter wavelength region of the spectrum. ASTRON has contributed to the construction of different instruments for theEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO)Very Large Telescope s, four 8-m telescopes located in the Atacama desert in Chile.Technology development
Discovery in astronomy goes hand in hand with innovation in technology. ASTRON pursues an aggressive program of technical development, aimed both at providing innovative instrumentation for use on current observing facilities, and at laying the groundwork for future generations of telescopes and signal processing instrumentation.
To these ends, the ASTRON facility in Dwingeloo maintains a well equipped R&D division specializing in the design, prototyping and qualification of:
* Low noise, ambient and cryogenic radio receiver systems (0.2 - 345 GHz)
* Very high speed digital electronics
* Antennas, especially in the array environment
* Advanced instrumentation for use at optical and infrared wavelengths
* Algorithm and software engineering for instrument control and for imagingExternal links
* [http://www.astron.nl Astron]
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