What does it mean to look at the the entire sky all at once in radio waves?
Charting the Course
This episode dives into the world of radio astronomy with Dr. Jayce Dowell, research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of New Mexico (UNM) and a leading scientist for the Long Wavelength Array (LWA). Unlike the VLA the LWA explores the entire visible sky all at once, and electronics and software give it unique abilities and views of the universe. I met him at the LWA-2 facility at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.
"The LWA is all about looking at low frequencies. So light comes, light goes in, a variety of frequencies of wavelengths, depending on how you like to think about it." - Dr. Jayce Dowell
Waypoints
00:02:34 - Touring the Long Wavelength Array at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
00:07:56 - Electronic Beamforming, All-Sky Imaging, and LWA Resolution
00:15:03 - LWA Ground Planes, Lightning Protection, and Air Force Experiments
00:24:12 - Inside the LWA Electronics Shelter: Fiber, Cable Delays, and Calibration
00:30:55 - RF Shielding, Custom Boards, FPGA Digitizers, and GPU Processing
00:43:45 - Formal Introduction to Dr. Jayce Dowell and the Long Wavelength Array
00:50:24 - LWA TV: All-Sky Images and Watching the Radio Sky
00:56:13 - Growing the LWA Network and Building a Backyard Station
01:00:04 - Software-Defined Radio, Hydrogen Line Astronomy, and Amateur Radio
01:07:25 - Seeing a Different Universe: Searching for Exoplanet Magnetospheres
01:14:59 - A Lunar Far-Side Radio Array and the Cosmic Dawn
01:18:18 - Dr. Jayce Dowell's Career Path and the Origins of His Work with LWA
Currents
- The LWA captures low-frequency radio waves, providing a different perspective on celestial objects.
- Interference from Earth and the ionosphere pose significant challenges for radio astronomy.
- The LWA's ability to detect solar flares and Jupiter's radio emissions highlights its scientific value.
- The concept of the LWA Swarm aims to expand the array's capabilities by involving multiple institutions.
- Citizen science projects like e-Callisto allow individuals to contribute to solar monitoring.
Where the River Took Us
- Daguerreotypes
- Epoch of reionization
- Cosmic dawn
- VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array)
- Interference
- Ionosphere
Links
Join the Current
So explore the LWA's unique view of the cosmos, grab your drink for The Ritual, and join us as we take a trip down Dr. Dowell's tributary of the Star River!
About Dr Jayce Dowell
Dr. Dowell is a Research Assistant Professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of New Mexico and a core scientist behind the Long Wavelength Array (LWA). Specialized in low-frequency radio astronomy, Jayce focuses on understanding cosmic phenomena ranging from solar radio bursts and planetary ionospheres to cosmic rays and transient radio sources.
Beyond observational research, he plays a key role in the software development, data processing pipelines, and operations that keep the LWA stations (LWA1 at the VLA and LWA-SV in Sevilleta) capturing the long-wavelength universe.
Watch LWA TV and see the sky like you've never seen it!
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