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Flying WV
West Virginia University · Radio Astronomy Instrumentation Laboratory DSPIRA

Community Labs

Is the telescope good enough for the public?

A WVU undergraduate tested the DSPIRA design against published values to see whether it holds up outside a classroom

Equipment and preparation · Optional activity
Equipment
A browser for the research report and video. Repeating the analysis requires calibrated observations and the comparison references.
Before you start
Read this as an optional project example. Review calibration and hydrogen measurements before adapting the analysis.
Planning your time
Review the tasks before scheduling a class. A classroom duration has not been confirmed for this lesson.

Teaching guidance

Victoria Blanton joined WVU’s 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience to test the telescope’s suitability outside classrooms.

She compared observations with published measurements. She measured neutral hydrogen, derived column densities, and checked literature values for the same sightlines. Agreement means the instrument is doing its job. Disagreement means either the sky is odd or the telescope is, and it is worth knowing which.

The poster The talk (video) Study report (view PDF)

WVU SURE Symposium -- Testing the Effectiveness of the DSPIRA Radio Telescope for Public Use. Watch on YouTube.

Use this comparison to check your spectra while working through the Observing module.

All 4 lessons in Community Labs Published July 1, 2021