Student uses Radio Telescope Data to Uncover Strange Astronomical Object

By Doug Lung
published

A high school sophomore at South Morrison High School in Clarksburg, W.V., didn't need his own receiver and antenna to discover a new astronomical object—a rare rotating radio transient. The West Virginia student made his discovery analyzing data from the nearby Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT).

Looking at the graphs in the National Radio Astronomy Observatory news release, it appears the rotating radio transient was found on 350 MHz. The student, Lucas Bolyard, noticed the signal showed a non-zero "dispersion measure," which indicated the signal came from space, not Earth.

For more on this interesting astronomical object and the graphs that alerted Bolyard to its presence, refer to the NRAO news release.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.