A decametric wavelength radio telescope for interplanetary scintillation observations

Abstract

A phased array, electrically steerable radio telescope (with a total collecting area of 18 acres), constructed for the purpose of remotely sensing electron density irregularity structure in the solar wind, is presented. The radio telescope is able to locate, map, and track large scale features of the solar wind, such as streams and blast waves, by monitoring a large grid of natural radio sources subject to rapid intensity fluctuation (interplanetary scintillation) caused by the irregularity structure. Observations verify the performance of the array, the receiver, and the scintillation signal processing circuitry of the telescope