The Long Wavelength Array (LWA) is a
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
in central
New Mexico. It began preliminary tests of the hardware in 2011, and began regular operations in late 2015. It is one of the few observatories to utilize relatively low frequencies (10-88 MHz), and is used to study
relativistic particle
A relativistic particle is a particle which moves with a relativistic speed; that is, a speed comparable to the speed of light. This is achieved by photons to the extent that effects described by special relativity are able to describe those of ...
s,
cosmic evolution,
astrophysical plasma,
decametric radio emissions
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is the cavity created in the solar wind by the planet's magnetic field. Extending up to seven million kilometers in the Sun's direction and almost to the orbit of Saturn in the opposite direction, Jupiter's magnetosp ...
from
Jupiter-like
extrasolar planets, and
giant flares from
magnetars.
it consisted of a single station with 256 antennas. The longer term objective of the project is to build 53 stations in total, with a total of 13,000
dipole antenna
In radio and telecommunications a dipole antenna or doublet is the simplest and most widely used class of antenna. The dipole is any one of a class of antennas producing a radiation pattern approximating that of an elementary electric dipole w ...
s
strategically placed in an area nearly in diameter, to scan the sky at
HF and
VHF
Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter.
Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
frequencies. Each antenna stands about high and about across the base. The first station, located adjacent to the NRAO's VLA, consists of 256 antennas and was completed in December 2009. It was dedicated in April 2010, and routine operations began in 2011.
The second station (LWA2) was under construction about away .
The project is a collaboration of
UNM,
VT,
LANL
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in ...
,
JPL
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...
,
NRL,
UI,
BIRS,
NRAO and
AFRL.
See also
*
Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder
*
List of astronomical observatories
*
LOFAR
The Low-Frequency Array, or LOFAR, is a large radio telescope, with an antenna network located mainly in the Netherlands, and spreading across 7 other European countries as of 2019. Originally designed and built by ASTRON, the Netherlands Instit ...
*
MeerKAT
MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...
*
Murchison Widefield Array
*
Square Kilometre Array
References
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science
Radio telescopes
Astronomical observatories in New Mexico
Interferometric telescopes
Buildings and structures in Socorro County, New Mexico
2011 establishments in New Mexico