Assembling a Radio Telescope and Study it’s

Various Implementation and Applications

Submitted By:
Banajit Rajbongshi
Aman Mishra
Rahul Sarkar
Chinmoy Das
INTRODUCTION

•A radio telescope is composed of a

specialized antenna and radio receiver
that is used to receive radio waves from
astronomical radio sources present in the
sky. Radio telescopes are the main
instrument to capture and study the radio
frequency portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum emitted by astronomical objects.
Radio telescopes are built in different
shapes and sizes in regards to their ability
to capture the range of radio spectrum
from 3 kHz-300 GHz.

A Radio telescope
Radio Sources

•In our universe there are numerous

sources that emit radio waves.
Nearly all type of celestial objects
gives off more or less radiations at
radio frequencies, but the strongest
sources of radio emissions include
pulsars, certain nebula's, quasars,
and radio galaxies. The most
common and closest radio source
available in our solar system is our
Sun. The Sun emits all forms of
radiation and radio waves are one of
Radio Waves
them.
 How it Looks like ???????

Radio

Infrared

optical
 The Sun

The Sun emits electromagnetic radiation at many

wavelengths across the EM spectrum, and radio
spectrum is one of them. The Sun emits radio
waves since it's hot, but there is a strong emission
even at lower frequencies. For the mechanism of
Synchrotron radiation which derives from the
movement of high-speed electrons around the
magnetic field
Our Sun
Radio
waves
 The Antenna

A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses

a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with
the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to
direct the radio waves to the receiver in its
focal point. The most common form is
shaped like a dish and is popularly called a
dish antenna or parabolic dish. The main
advantage of a parabolic antenna is that it
has high directivity. It functions similarly to a
searchlight or flashlight reflector to direct
radio waves in a narrow beam, or receive
radio waves from one particular direction A parabolic antenna
only.
 Resolution of a Radio Telescope

The resolution refers how close things can be

together and still be distinguished as separate
objects. The angular resolution of a telescope
depends on the diameter (D) of the dish and the
wavelength at which the measurements are being
made. The angular resolution of the telescope is
given as λ /D. Radio waves have a large
wavelength and hence have poor resolution. So, to
improve the resolution of the radio telescopes, their
diameters are increased. To increase the collecting
area, the radio telescopes are made in the form of
arrays. In an array two or more telescopes are used
and their signals are combined. The distance
Array of radio between two telescopes can be large.
telescope
 Solar Flare

Solar flares are large eruptions of

electromagnetic radiation from the Sun lasting
from minutes to hours. A solar flare occurs
when magnetic energy that builds up in the
solar atmosphere is suddenly released. The
radiation emitted from the solar surface covers
the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from
radio waves at the long wavelength end,
through optical emission to X-rays and small
amount of gamma rays at the short wavelength
end. Solar flares are an often occurrence when
the Sun is active in the years around solar
maximum.
Solar Flare
 Half Power Beam Width

Half Power Beam Width or HPBW is an angular

width (in degrees), measured on the major lobe
of an antenna radiation pattern at half-power
points i.e. the points at which the signal power
is half that of its peak value. In other words, The
Half Power Beamwidth (HPBW) is the angular
separation in which the magnitude of the
radiation pattern decreases by 50% (or -3 dB)
from the peak of the main beam. The 3 dB
points on the major lobe of the antenna are the
half power points. These points are at -3 dB
from where the point of maximum amplitude.
 Brightness Temperature
Brightness temperature, Tb, is defined as the
temperature of a blackbody that emits the same
intensity as measured. The Telescope takes
observations by measuring the power received,
which is proportional to the temperature of the
source, and comparing it to the power output of
an internal resistor, which is proportional to
antenna temperature (or the temperature
measured at the resistor. The ratio of the power
from the source and the power output of the
resistor is proportional to brightness temperature
of the source. So, in short, the telescope
measures the intensity of the radio
emission from a source and converts this signal
Global average brightness temperature
to the brightness temperature, reported in Kelvin.
 Our Objectives

In this project we aimed to build small-scale radio telescope also we try compare the solar radio
data with the solar optical data to check if there is any kind of change occurring at the surface of
the Sun. Our aim is also to detect the radio waves emitting from the planet Jupiter alongside we
will be focusing on the Moon to detect the radio waves coming from it.
1. We collect the materials required for the project work such as, TV dish antenna of required
bandwidth, the LNB ,electronic equipment's etc.
2. We assemble the German Equatorial Mount on which the TV dish antenna is to be set up.
3. A amplifying electronic circuit has to be develop for enhancing the output radio signals.
4. Acquisition of radio data from different celestial objects.
5. Analysis and discussion of the data acquired.
6. Calculation of the brightness temperature.
Assembling The Radio Telescope
 Establishment of the dish on the mount

First of all, we assembled the equatorial mount,

fixed at a certain height and levelled it using a
spirit level. Initially the mast of the dish was too
long to fit on the equatorial mount. When we
placed it on the mount it was disturbing in
rotation of the telescope. So, we cut the lower
portion above the bent part. Next, by piercing
two holes on the dish stand, we fixed it on the
telescope holder, perpendicular to the declination
axis. The counter weight was initially found
lighter than the dish assembly so, the mount was
unable to balance the telescope. For proper
balancing we have added an extra weight to the
Dish assembly on the mount counter weight
 How to gaze with the telescope

To gaze celestial objects with the telescope we

placed it on the path of the Sun called ecliptic
facing towards the zenith. Using an online
application named 'SunCalc' we calculated the
maximum altitude (closed to zenith) of the sun
and its corresponding azimuth and time for a
particular day. Then point the telecom towards
that maximum altitude point using the
coordinates that we get from the app. We planned
to take solar data from 15 minutes (4°) before the
sun re the zenith to 15 minutes after it leaves the
zenith. When the sun moves towards zenith the
amount of photon count increases and we get
maximum intensity when it reaches the zenith. As
it leaves the zenith number of photon count
decreases again. Throughout the process, after
every 30 seconds, we note the data.
Electronics of the Telescope
 LNB

The abbreviation LNB stands for Low Noise Block

down converter. It is the device used on the front of a
satellite dish that receives the very low-level signals
ranging from radio waves to microwave. The LNB
transforms signals to lower frequency band and
sends them to an indoor receiver through a co-axial
cable. The circuit of LNB consists of two band pass
filters, two amplifiers ad a local oscillator. The input
wave-guide on the left which is connected to the
collecting feed or horn. As shown, there is a vertical
pin through the board side of the wave-guide that
extracts the vertical polarization signals as an
electrical current. The satellite signals first go
through a band pass filter which only allows the
intended band of microwave frequencies to pass
through. The signals are then amplified by a Low
Noise Amplifier and then to the mixer.
 Antenna

Band pass Band pass

Amplifier Mixer circuit
filer filer

Local
amplifier
oscillator

Output
Satellite Finder
The output from the LNB is feed to a satellite
finder which detects the power of the signal. We
used a JNB satellite finder, which uses an analog
dial to show the power of the radio signal. The
satellite finder measures the amount of energy
in RF signal over a wide frequency range.
the physical picture of satellite finder Our
satellite finder has an input range of 900 MHz-
2150 MHz. It has two input points; one is from
the set-top box and another from the LNB which
is mounted on the dish. The received signal
strength indicator output of the satellite finder is
shown by means of proportionate DC voltage
which is then supplied to an analog
galvanometer dial. The two leads of the
galvanometer are connected to our designed
electronic circuit for amplification of signal.
 The Op-Amp

An Operational Amplifier, or op-amp for short, is

fundamentally a voltage amplifying device designed
to be used with external feedback components such
as resistors and capacitors between its output and
input terminals. These feedback components
determine the resulting function or “operation” of the
amplifier and by virtue of the different feedback
configurations whether resistive, capacitive or both,
the amplifier can perform a variety of different
operations, giving rise to its name of “Operational
Amplifier”.
An Operational Amplifier is basically a three-terminal
device which consists of two high impedance inputs.
One of the inputs is called the Inverting Input,
marked with a negative or “minus” sign, (–). The
other input is called the Non-inverting Input, marked
with a positive or “plus” sign (+).
 The Whole Setup Connection

Antenna LNB Satellite finder Amplifier circuit Output

Result and Discussion
 Half power Beam
Width
We detect the low energy radio waves emitted by the sun
through the radio telescope for 20 days. The radio waves
coming from the sun are captured through our dish antenna and
we recorded the readings in volts using a digital multimeter. The
readings for different weather conditions were captured which
includes the rainy, cloudy and clear bright sky days. For our
investigation we have taken the diameter of the dish, d=62cm,
the wavelength received by the dish, λ = (2.8 to 3.07) cm .
From calculation the HPBW obtained is equal to 3.04.
 Sun’s Brightness temperature

Measurement of brightness temperature considering only radio waves

neglecting the other major waves like UV, IR etc. (Lots of error included)

We detect the low energy radio waves emitted by the sun through the radio
telescope for 20 days. The radio waves coming from the sun are captured
through our dish antenna and we recorded the readings in volts using a
digital multimeter. The readings for different weather conditions were
captured which includes the rainy, cloudy and clear bright sky days.

For the calculation of brightness temperature of the sun the following

parameters taken are, =9.75-10.6 GHz, h = 6.62607004 x , k = 1.38064852
x , kg, c = 3 x , m/s.

The brightness temperature found to be equal to 9.06K

 Detection of Solar Flare

On 12th April, we received the radio waves from

the sun with a maximum value of 3.48-volt,
background reading being 1.51 volt and thus we
got a corrected value of 1.97 volt. Whereas the
intensity of radio waves on May is found to be of
3.24 volt with a background reading of 1.48 volt
and of corrected value of 1.76 volt.
Comparing the both curves, it becomes clear
that radio wave intensity is comparatively higher
on the day where solar activity was present. This
result indicates that there must be ejection of
more solar flares on 12th April as compared to
2nd May.
 Radio wave detection for moon and
Jupiter
In this practical investigation we also took
radio data for celestial bodies like our moon
and the Jupiter emitting the radio waves.
The moon is not a source as like the Sun
emitting the radio waves but it reflects the
radio waves coming from our home galaxy,
the Milky Way off its surface. Jupiter does
emit radio waves of a different sort at
frequencies above 100MHz.
We acquired the data for both moon and
Jupiter on 29th March 2022.We received
peak value of the radio waves emitted by
half moon and Jupiter were 1.60 volt and
1.54 volts respectively. Also, on another
night 23rd April 2022 for full moon and
Jupiter received a data of 1.70 volt and 1.61
volt.
Conclusion
From the practical investigations carried out in this project work we conclude with the
following points.

1. We setup a small-scale radio telescope, which is ascending on a German equatorial

mount.

2. We plot the graph for the radio waves radiance from the sources we examine (Sun, Moon
and Jupiter).

3. We measure the half power beam width of our dish with help of multi-meter reading
taken in a time interval of 30 secs.

4. Using the Planck’s equation we measure the brightness temperature of the sun, the
brightness temperature of the sun we evaluated has a value of 9.04 K and the surface
temperature is 5882.86 with an error of 1.43%.

5. By collecting the data recorded for radiance of radio waves in presence sun spot we found
a direct increase in radio emission of sun with it.

6. We also found the practical evidence of the reflection of radio waves by moon and
emission of the radio waves by Jupiter.