Martin George

• PhD Student at University of Southern Queensland

Low frequency radio astronomy sites in Tasmania.

‘Modern astronomy’ was introduced to Siam (present-day Thailand) when the Belgian Jesuit missionary-astronomer Father Antoine Thomas carried out astronomical observations in 1681 and 1682 in order to determine the latitude and longitude of Ayutthaya. Three years later a contingent of French Jesuit missionary astronomers observed a total lunar eclip...

This is a copy of a ppt presentation I gave at the ICOA-8 conference. But the title is a little misleading as this paper is only about the low frequency work by the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics astronomers in and near Sydney. A companion paper, with Martin George as the lead author, was presented by Martin about early low frequency radio astronom...

This is one of the papers I prepared and gave at the Ao Nang Meeting. A chapter based on this paper will be included in the book, 'Exploring the History of Southeast Asian Astronomy: A Review of Current Projects and Future Prospects and Possibilities, edited by Wayne Orchiston and Mayank Vahia, which will be published by Springer in 2020.

Abstract: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics purchased an American prefabricated 18-m radio telescope in 1960 which became known as the 'Kennedy Dish'. This telescope was assembled at the Fleurs field station to form part of a high-resolution compound interferometer together with the E-W arm of the Christiansen Cross. It was used for the investigat...

Abstract: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics operated a 36-ft (11-m) transit parabola at Potts Hill field station in the western suburbs of Sydney from 1952 to 1963. This radio telescope was built following the H-line discovery for the purpose of a southern sky survey which was combined with Leiden observations to produce a full sky H-line survey o...

Abstract: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics operated a fully steerable 21-ft (6.4-m) parabola at Murraybank field station in the northern suburbs of Sydney from 1956 to 1961. This radio telescope was built to test a new 48-channel H-line receiver prior to its installation at Parkes. A full southern sky H-line survey was conducted as well as observ...

Abstract: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics purchased an American prefabricated 18-m radio telescope in 1960 which became known as the 'Kennedy Dish'. This telescope was assembled at the Fleurs field station to form part of a high-resolution compound interferometer together with the E-W arm of the Christiansen Cross. It was used for the investigat...

ABSTRACT: The CSIRO Division of Radiophysics used a 14-ft × 18-ft (4.9-m × 5.5-m) WWII experimental radar antenna to conduct radio astronomical research at the Georges Heights and later Potts Hill field stations in Sydney from 1947 to 1959. Initially this novel radio telescope was used to record solar radio emission at 200, 600 and 1200 MHz from Ge...

On 18 February 1679 Paris Observatory astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini presented a new map of the Moon to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, and this then became the standard reference work for French astronomers who carried out selenographical observations. Among these was a contingent of Jesuit missionary-astronomers who sailed from Brest on 3 Ma...

This poster was prepared for the IAU Historic Radio Astronomy WG's program at the Vienna GA.

Abstract: Inspired by the Jodrell Bank 218-ft above ground fixed antenna, John Bolton, Gordon Stanley, Kevin Westfold and Bruce Slee from the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics spent three months in 1951 digging a 21.9-m hole-in-the-ground radio telescope at Dover Heights field station. This telescope was later expanded to a diameter of 24.4m making it...

Beginning in the early 1960s, the University of Tasmania became very involved in low frequency radio astronomical studies, which was to continue into the 1980s. Although important low frequency arrays were set up at Penna and Richmond, the main location for this activity by the University was in the vicinity of Hobart Airport, known as Llanherne. T...

On 18 February 1679 Paris Observatory astronomer Jean Dominique Cassini presented a new map of the Moon to the Academy of Sciences in Paris, and this then became the standard reference work for French astronomers who carried out selenographical observations. Among these was a contingent of Jesuit missionary-astronomers who sailed from Brest on 3 Ma...

Beginning in the early 1960s, the University of Tasmania became very involved in low frequency radio astronomical studies, which was to continue into the 1980s. Although important low frequency arrays were set up at Penna and Richmond, the main location for this activity by the University was in the vicinity of Hobart Airport, known as Llanherne. T...

In the 1960s, Grote Reber (1911‒ 2002) established and used an antenna array near Bothwell in Tasmania. Working independently, he produced a radio map of the southern sky at a frequency of 2.085 MHz (a wavelength of 144 metres). Encouraged by this success, he modified the array in the 1970s to work at ~1.155 MHz, but this second endeavour failed to...

Following initial experiments near Hobart by Graeme Ellis, Grote Reber and Gordon Newstead from 1955 to 1957, the University of Tasmania established several sites for the study of low frequency radio astronomy, beginning in 1961. This paper describes the antenna array that was constructed at Penna, to the east northeast of Hobart. Between 1962 and...

Abtstract: Following some initial research in Tasmania between 1955 and 1957, notably by Graeme Ellis and Grote Reber, low-frequency radio astronomy became a significant activity of the University of Tasmania from the early 1960s. Although locations very close to Hobart Airport were to see the majority of this work, in the early to mid-1960s low-fr...

The first great ruler to encourage the adoption of Western culture and technology throughout Siam (present-day Thailand) was King Narai, who also had a passion for astronomy. He showed this by encouraging French and other Jesuit missionaries, some with astronomical interests and training, to settle in Siam from the early 1660s. One of these was Fat...

Between 1949 and 1952 the CSIR’s Division of Radiophysics was a world leader in low frequency radio astronomy, through research conducted mainly by Alex Shain and Charlie Higgins at their Hornsby Valley field station near Sydney. In this paper we discuss the personnel, radio telescopes and research programs (mainly conducted at 9.15 and 18.3 MHz) a...

After initially making low frequency observations with Graeme Ellis near Hobart, Tasmania, in 1955, Grote Reber returned to Tasmania to carry out further observations in 1956 –1957 near Kempton, to the north of Hobart. He chose to investigate at 520 kHz, and used four dipoles, each about 670m long, about 300m apart and approximately 100m above a va...

Significant contributions to low frequency radio astronomy were made in the Australian state of Tasmania after the arrival of Grote Reber in 1954. Initially, Reber teamed with Graeme Ellis, who was then working with the Ionospheric Prediction Service, and they carried out observations as low as 0.52 MHz during the 1955 period of exceptionally low s...

During the 1950s and 1960s Australia was a world leader in the specialised field of low frequency radio astronomy, with two geographically-distinct areas of activity.

Low frequency radio astronomy in Tasmania began with the arrival of Grote Reber to the State in 1954. 1 After analysing ionospheric data from around the world, he concluded that Tasmania would be a very suitable place to carry out low frequency observations. Communications with Graeme Ellis in Tasmania, who had spent several years studying the iono...