Design, Environmental and Sustainability Constraints of new African Observatories: The example of the Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory

The Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO) will be a first milestone towards development of radioastronomy in Mozambique. Development of MRAO will constitute a preparation step towards participation in the upcoming Africa VLBI Network and the Square Kilometer Array project. The MRAO first ant...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2013-11
Main Authors: Barbosa, Domingos, Paulo, Claudio, Valerio A R M Ribeiro, Loots, Anita, Thondikulam, Venkatasubramani L, Gaylard, Michael, Arnold van Ardenne, Colafrancesco, Sergio, Bergano, Miguel, Amador, Jose Carlos, Maia, Rodrigo, Melo, Rui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antenna arrays
Astronomy
Frequency analysis
Observatories
Radio astronomy
Radio frequency interference
Sustainability
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory (MRAO) will be a first milestone towards development of radioastronomy in Mozambique. Development of MRAO will constitute a preparation step towards participation in the upcoming Africa VLBI Network and the Square Kilometer Array project. The MRAO first antenna is planned to serve as a capacitation and training facility and will be installed after the conversion of a 7-meter telecom dish in South Africa. Therefore, this first radiotelescope design has to comply with local spectral and environmental constraints. Furthermore, power availability and long term sustainability with potential inclusion of solar power and control of Radio Frequency Interference are analyzed. Here we outline some of the design, environmental and power sustainability constraints.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1311.4464