Listening in on exploding stars from Birr's I-LOFAR

Irish researchers and students based are involved in some of the most ground-breaking and advanced research projects in modern astronomy, including projects in big-bang cosmology, deep extragalactic surveys, cosmic magnetism, cosmic rays, solar physics and space weather.

And it's all because of the new €2m I-LOFAR radio telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world, that was officially switched on at Birr Castle by Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan last week.

LOFAR, standing for LOw Frequency ARray, is an international network of state-of-the-art telescopes used to observe the Universe in unprecedented detail at low radio frequencies.

LOFAR is one of the largest astrophysics projects in Europe, consisting of 11 international stations spread across Germany, Poland, France, UK, and Sweden, with additional stations and a central hub in The Netherlands, operated by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON).

History was made on Thursday morning last when the radio telescope officially went live and it will now be used to detect exploding stars, search for new planets and understand the effects of the Sun on the Earth.

That's according to Professor Gallagher, head of the I-LOFAR Collaboration and Associate Dean of Research at Trinity College Dublin, who added that the Irish LOFAR radio telescope opens up a new era of astronomical research in Ireland.

'The huge volumes of data that the radio telescope will produce will requires us to develop new software and data analytics techniques to process and understand the data. I-LOFAR really is a test-bed for big data in Ireland.â€
The facility will allow Irish researchers and students access to a facility involved in some of the most ground-breaking and advanced research projects in modern astronomy, including projects in big-bang cosmology, deep extragalactic surveys, cosmic magnetism, cosmic rays, solar physics and space weather.

Minister Halligan who officially switched on the telescope at 11am on Thursday said the I-LOFAR will link Ireland with our European partners in this pioneering research collaboration in astronomy.

'Membership of LOFAR affords a unique opportunity for research and engagement to young people across the country with astronomy and science in general. As Minister it is my distinct pleasure to be here to celebrate the achievement of such a wide section of the Irish scientific community,' commented Minister Halligan.

Professor Mark Ferguson, Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, said he was delighted to see the progress that had been made in constructing I-LOFAR at Birr Castle.

'Science Foundation Ireland has supported this through an investment of €1.4m, to ensure that we have world-class research facilities in Ireland that enable researchers to explore new ideas in the areas of radio astronomy, big data, data analytics and supercomputing.  I am confident that this cutting-edge infrastructure will create exciting opportunities for new and innovative collaborations between researchers, and enable them to secure future funding from industry and from EU programmes.† 

Open eir has provided the high speed fibre connection required to power the telescope.

I-LOFAR will be run by a consortium of Irish astrophysicists, computer engineers and data scientists, representing Irish universities and institutes of technologies from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The consortium is led by Trinity College Dublin, with partners from University College Dublin, Dublin City University, Athlone Institute of Technology, the National University of Ireland Galway, University College Cork, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and Armagh Observatory & Planetarium.

Further information on I-LOFAR and its research programme is available here http://lofar.ie