Interplanetary Scintillation with the Long Wavelength Array

  • CART Astrophysics Seminar Series

April 30, 2026 2:00 PM - April 30, 2026 3:00 PM
PAIS 3205

Host:
Diana Dragomir
Presenter:
Charlie Siders
One of the easiest ways to distinguish planets from stars with the naked eye is that stars twinkle (or scintillate), but planets don’t. The tiny variations in the index of refractions of the atmosphere that cause stars to scintillate are smaller than the angular diameter of the planets, causing any scintillation of the planet to average out. At radio wavelengths, we can observe scintillation caused by solar wind as it passes in front of a compact radio source. This interplanetary scintillation can tell us about both the radio source and the solar wind. I will provide an overview of the physics of interplanetary scintillation, how we measure it, and some of the methods we can use to study both the source and the solar wind. I will also provide an update on our attempts to use the Long Wavelength Array to observe interplanetary scintillation.

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