New Directions in Radio Astronomy


When people think of radio astronomy and radio telescopes, they envision large dish antennas and investigations taking place in the UHF and microwave regions of the spectrum.

An article this week at Australia's ScienceNews.net.au, Perth SKA low frequency workshop a success describes Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) plans for a low frequency square kilometer array (SKA) radio telescope that can operate as low as 70 MHz. At these low frequencies, parabolic dish antennas are not practical. To achieve a frequency range that extends from 70 MHz to 25 GHz, an array of dish antennas is assisted by an array of dipole antennas. The workshop referred to in the article focused on the design of these dipole antennas.

Dr. Phil Diamond, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science chief, explained, "The local universe has a wavelength of 21 centimeters, but as you go further out, the wavelength gets longer and longer, to about 2 meters; so the only way to detect it is with low-frequency radio signals."

More details are available CSIRO's radio astronomy projects are available on the CSIRO Technologies for Radio Astronomy page.

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.