1. The Radio Eyes: Observing the Sun, Jupiter and IO
Nathan Sharifrazi, Megan Naghibian, Taylor Patti
2014 Summer Undergraduate Research
Schmid College of Science and Technology, Chapman University, Orange, CA
Mentor: Eric Minassian, PhD
Introduction
The purpose of this research was to develop
practical intuition and gain firsthand experience in
radio astronomy. Radio Waves form a major
component of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (Figure
1), which also contains microwaves and visible light.
Our atmosphere is opaque to most EM waves,
but there are windows of transparency both in visible
and radio range.
By constructing and implementing four Radio
receivers and antennas, the SuperSID, INSPIRE,
IBT, and Radio JOVE we were able to intercept
Radio Waves in the transparent region from
astronomical and man-made sources alike, enabling
us to attain data on the behavior of the Sun,
terrestrial weather, the planet Jupiter, and Jupiter's
moon itself, respectively.
Hypothesis
The universe being rich in Radio length
Electromagnetic Radiation, these Radio telescopes
will intercept ample radiation from various
astronomical and terrestrial sources, thus providing
for a greater insight and understanding of many
natural phenomena not easily studied by other
methods.
Figure 1. The Electromagnetic Spectrum
INSPIRE
A receiver and a virtual dipole antenna (ten-feet
monopole + a virtual mirror image in the ground), the
INSPIRE is an extremely sensitive apparatus which cannot
be within 500 meters of even the most modest of modern
electronics, this device provides information on the
duration of various terrestrial weather events, with special
emphasis on lightning and thunderstorms.
Figure 3. SuperSID July 28, 2014 report corresponding to spaceweather.com
Rapid bursts of high intensity and short duration were
detected by the Radio JOVE (Figure 6). The associated
audio files yielded rapid popping noises known as S-
bursts.
S-bursts are caused by storms on Jupiter associated
with its moon IO. These bursts are rapid and plentiful,
occurring at a fairly high frequency and creating a popping
sounds on the audio output of the receiver, much like the
experimental data collected in this project (2). Moreover,
observations from other Radio Astronomers taken from
NASA’s corresponding support page agrees with this
findings, indicating that these types of storms were
detected on Jupiter within a 24 hour period of these
observations (5).
Future Research
Each of these apparatuses provides foundation for
nearly limitless application and study. While in
subsequent experiments the versatile IBT could be
employed in detecting emissions from far-off stars and
galaxies and locating and tracking the movement of
satellites and even humans, the powerful Radio JOVE
can provide detailed information on the activities of the
Sun, Jupiter and Jupiter's moon IO. Moreover, just as the
SuperSID can be utilized to compile extensive data on
sunspot activities and ultimately achieve a greater
understanding of solar weather patterns, the INSPIRE
project can furnish information with regards to terrestrial
weather, including the generation and patterns of
thunderstorms on Earth.
References
(1) Bennett, R., (2007). The INSPIRE VLF-3 RECEIVER Theory of
Operation. Retrieved from
http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/inspire/2007/RSPublication/Theory_of_Operations.pdf.
(2)Flagg, R.S., (2012). JOVE RJ1.1 Receiver Kit Assembly Manual. Retrieved from
http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/telescope/rcvr_manual.pdf.
(3)Phillips, T., (2010). Space Weather Conditions. Retrieved from
http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=28&month=07&year=2014.
(4) Scherrer, D., Mitchell, R., et al. (2009). Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance Space
Weather Monitor Manual. Retrieved from http://solar-
center.stanford.edu/SID/Distribution/SuperSID/supersid_v1_1/Doc/SuperSIDManual_v1.p
df.
(5) Typinski, D., (2014) Radio JOVE Data Archived Display. Retrieved from
http://radiojove.org/cgi-
bin/rjdisplay.pl?sortdate1=201408070000&sortdate2=201408070000&STRING=
Jupiter.
(6)Young, H.D., Freedman, R., et al. (2013). University Physics with
Modern Physics Technology Update. San Francisco, CA: Pearson Addison-
Wesley.
The definitive and marked peaks during the daytime
hours indicate that solar flares were occurring during
those hours. This was corroborated by NASA’s Space
Weather report, which reported 110 sunspots developing
on that day (3).
IBT (Itty Bitty Telescope)
The IBT is a simple and dynamic device which is
constructed from a recycled cable television parabolic dish
and a basic satellite finder. Sensing SHF (Super High
Frequency) Radio waves, it senses blackbody radiation
and it enables the user to discern between bodies and
regions of various temperatures . In this project, the IBT
was mounted on a stand with a lazy-Suzanne design in
order to facilitate accurately observing various targets.
The IBT showed dramatic difference with solar vs.
“cold sky” regions. As (Figure 5) indicates, the thermal
intensity of the device increased nearly 7 times when the
antenna’s focus briefly panned past the sun.
The average temperatures of empty universe and the
Sun are 3 and 5,778 Kelvin respectively (6). This massive
temperature difference accounts for the seven to one
increase which occurred when the IBT was directed at the
Sun rather than at “cold sky”. Many factors such as noise
in the antenna and the environment accounts for this
difference.
CU1: Chapman University SuperSID Monitor
Observation: Date: 24-hr observation for Jul28, 2014. Location: Aliso Viejo, CA. Lat/long: 33°34'N / 117°44'W.
UTC = PDT +7 Sunrise on Jul28: 6:00 AM PDT (1:00 PM UTC). Sunset on Jul28: 7:54 PM PDT (2:54 AM, Next Day, UTC).
Observed: X-Ray Solar Flare, category C2 observed at 1410 UT Jul28, more prominent on NWC signal at 19,800 Hz
A category C1 X-ray solar flare occurred at 1930 UT Jul28 2014, but was not observed possibly due to lowering ionization at sunset
X-ray Solar Flare
Category C2 at 1410 UT
Jul28
Graphs
Station Frequency (Hz) Location Color
NWC 19800 Australia Blue
NPM 21400 HI, USA Green
JJI 22200 Japan Red
HWU 21750 France Yellow
The SuperSID
The concept and design of the SuperSID is a
small, transportable circuitry case attached to a loop
antenna of wire and wood; it detects the VLF (very
low frequency) Radio waves which are emitted by
naval bases around the world to communicate with
submarines(4).
By comparing the relative intensity of such waves
throughout the day, it monitors the status of the
Ionosphere, which is activated by solar radiation. In this
manner, sunspots and other solar activities can be
monitored through SID, CME (coronal Mass Ejections)
and mapped. Allowing for a -7 hour offset to correctly
convert the Universal Time Coordinate to local time
(Mission Viejo, CA), the SuperSID data (Figure 3) yields
intensity jumps significantly greater than typical daytime
observation with no solar activity.
Radio JOVE
Hours of careful soldering, diligent assembly, and
precise tuning culminated in the Radio Jove, a functioning
radio receiver that is used to monitor emissions from the
Sun, Jupiter, and Jupiter's moon IO. The Radio Jove
combines a complex circuitry with a massive dual dipole
up to 20 feet in height, 25 feet long and over 1,000 square
feet in cross sectional area.
The Inspire antenna provided a gentle cracking and
popping sound, which was adapted to a graph showing a
somewhat oscillatory pattern of rapid and continuous radio
emission.
Sferics are cracking and popping noises associated
with lightning strikes up to 3,000 kilometers away (1). A
graph of this is somewhat consistent with the data which
the Inspire device received, indicating the possibility of a
lightning strike within the 28 million square kilometers
surrounding the testing site (Orange, CA). However, the
experimental data oscillates somewhat more rapidly,
indicating that interference from power lines may have
been involved.
Figure 4. INSPIRE August 6, 2014 data.
Figure 5. IBT data August 2, 2014 panning over the Sun.
Figure 6. Radio JOVE August 4, 2014 data including tests disconnecting the
antenna from the receiver.
Figure 2. Atmospheric Opacity for EM waves