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News and Features Archive

[23 January 2013 ]
Recent non-Io-A emissions from Jupiter

In past years most Jove observations have focused on Io - related emissions. Recently, many periods of non-Io-A related activity have been observed in addition to the Io-related emissions. The non-Io-A activity is predominately L-bursts.

We encourage observers to also monitor during non-Io-related times as determined using their Radio Jupiter Pro software. Simply stated this means observing during times when the central meridian longitude of Jupiter is in the range of 225-280° as seen on the CML/Io Phase plane display in Radio Jupiter Pro.

[19 September 2012 ]
Radio JOVE to provide radio astronomy exhibit at the 2012 Starry Night event

Gainesville, Florida — Local Radio JOVE members will provide a radio astronomy exhibit at the annual Starry Night event at the University of Florida Museum of Natural History from 6pm to 10pm on November 30th, 2012. Starry Night is a program designed to bring awareness of astronomy and science to the public by offering free activities and displays. The radio astronomy exhibit will be set up outdoors, near the optical telescopes.

Attendees will be able to see a Jove receiver in action with a real-time strip chart, plus an SDR-14 functioning as a real-time spectrograph. Recorded examples of Jovian S-bursts and L-bursts will also be heard.

More info:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/calendar/grid/starry-night/

[26 June 2012 ]
Radio JOVE and the 2nd USA Science and Engineering Expo

Dr. Ata Sarajedini, Professor and Associate Chair of the University of Florida Astronomy Dept. lead the UF group that participated in the USA Science and Engineering Expo in Washington D.C. on April 28-29. The UF theme for this year was "Gators in Space". He kindly carried about 60-70 RJ brochures that he completely distributed during the expo.

The Radio Jove project thanks Dr. Sarajedini and the University of Florida for their support

[3 June 2012 ]
Radio JOVE at 2012 Dayton Hamvention

The Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers' booth at the 2012 Dayton ham radio "Hamvention", May 18-20 in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. provided visitors with information and items about Radio JOVE. Our thanks to Bill and Melinda Lord from SARA for their help in promoting our project.

[ 6 Dec 2011 ]
Jupiter Season Passes Midway Point

On October 29th, Earth made its closest approach of the year to Jupiter. With the Sun, Earth, and Jupiter lined up, Jupiter was at opposition and transited at local midnight. As we pull ahead of the King of Planets, Jupiter will be high in the sky after sunset. Radio observations can now be made during those more civilized evening hours. Its a great time to listen. December got off to a fantastic start with a phenomenal Io-B storm on December 1.

[ 03 Nov 2011 ]
Radio JOVE at the 2011 Starry Night event

Gainesville, Florida — Radio astronomy was represented by several Radio JOVE members at the annual Starry Night event at the University of Florida on November 3rd.

Thumbnail of RJ participants at Starry Night
Radio JOVE participants (L to R) Dave Typinski, Francisco Reyes, and Wes Greenman.

Starry Night is a program designed to bring awareness of astronomy and science to the public by offering free activities and displays. The outdoor portion consisted of several telescopes viewing the Moon, Jupiter, and several close binary stars. Radio astronomy was represented by the Radio JOVE display.

The Radio JOVE exhibit consisted of a single dipole strung between two palm trees (it is Florida, after all!), a Jove receiver with a real-time strip chart, and an SDR-14 with a real-time spectrogram. Visitors were also treated to recorded examples of Jovian S-bursts and L-bursts.

More info:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/education/starrynight.htm

[ 02 Nov 2011 ]
Jupiter Kicks Butt

Thumbnail of Io-B storm chart Fantastic Io-B storms received recently. Some bursts were over a million degrees (about 15 dB above the galactic background). There has also been enhanced non-Io-A activity. Jupiter just passed opposition so it is transiting before midnight now. Its a great time to observe - so dust of your Jove antenna, fire up that radio, and submit your results to the Jove archive. We have been thru a long spell of rather weak Jupiter signals, but now conditions are much more favorable (the Jovicentric declination De of Earth is near its peak value). We expect Jupiter to turn in a great performance over the next few years.

[ 29 Aug 2011 ]
RJers catch nighttime solar burst

Thumbnail of night-time solar burst chart While it has been known to happen, observing a solar radio burst in the middle of the night is a rare event. On August 4, 2011, a number of folks in the Western Hemisphere captured a strong solar burst near midnight, U.S. Eastern time (03:58Z). The same event was observed elsewhere, including just before sunrise in Western Europe.

[ 29 Aug 2011 ]
2011 Jupiter Season well underway

Radio JOVE participants have been capturing lots of radio outbursts from the King of the Planets. Fire up your RJ decametric telescope and see what storms you catch. Submit your observations to the Radio JOVE Data Archive.

[ 11 May 2011 ]
Radio JOVE and SARA at the 2011 Dayton Hamvention

Photo of booth at 2011 Dayton HamventionThe Radio JOVE project teamed with the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers to promote amateur radio astronomy at the ham radio "Hamvention" in Dayton, Ohio on May 20 - 22. There were Radio JOVE kits there for purchasing as well as other radio-related projects of interest.

See the Hamvention web site for more information about this event.

[ 15 March 2011 ]
Photo: RJ at the Mars Desert Research Station - 2011

Here is the Radio Jove telescope at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a project of The Mars Society, an international non-profit humans to Mars organization. Located near Hanksville, UT.

Pictured: Crystal L. Latham, Chief Scientist of MDRS crew 100 B of ILEWG EuroMoonMars.

Photo of Utah Mars Desert station
[Photo has been red enhanced just for fun. - RJ Webmaster]

See the May 2003 JOVE Bulletin for an article on Radio JOVE at the MDRS.

[ 2 March 2011 ]
Who can record the last Jupiter signals of this observing season?

Jupiter is rapidly moving toward the Sun's position in the sky and now appears near the western horizon in the evening twilight. This signals the end of another Jupiter observing season. Or does it? During times of minimum solar activity Jupiter can be observed during daylight hours because the earth's ionosphere is reasonably transparent to decametric radio waves.

Jupiter signals have been received as recently as mid-February by RJer Dave Typinski. Even though solar activity is on the rise it might be worth taking a daytime listen for Jupiter as it heads for conjunction with the Sun on April 6, 2011.

[ 28 February 2011 ]
Radio JOVE booth at the Orlando HamCation

Photo of booth at Orlando HamcationIn February Radio JOVE shared an exhibit table at the 2011 HamCation with the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomy (SARA) at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando, Florida. Our folks chatted with numerous folks at the event, and answered many of their questions.

+ Orlando HamCation Web site

[ 27 December 2010 ]
Impressive December 6, 2010 Jupiter Io-B Storm

20.1MHz polarimeter plotAs the season winds down Jupiter intensity has been increasing as of late. Weak emission was detected around 0018 UT but increases towards the storm end to above 2 million degrees Kelvin.

spectrograph chartThe 20.1 MHz polarimeter shows primarily Right Circular Polarization (Red) throughout the storm as expected from the Io-B source. The spectrograph shows wideband L-burst emission cut-up by the horizontal Faraday Lanes. Modulation Lanes can also be seen as 45 degree emission from high to low frequencies cutting across the lower part of the spectrum.

[ 28 July 2010 ]
Radio Jove gives keynote speech at SARA Meeting

Dr. Higgins speaking at SARA MeetingThe Radio Jove project was honored to accept a request by the Society of Amateur Radio Astonomers to present the keynote speech at this year's annual meeting at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV, July 4-7, 2010. (http://www.radio-astronomy.org) The presentation generated some interesting discussion and it was also possible to inspect a state-of-the-art example of a Radio Jove setup brought by Bill and Melinda Lord.

Next year's SARA conference will be June 26-29, 2011 so make your plans now.

[ 8 June 2010 ]
Radio Jove Teacher Education

GAVRT Teacher Workshop folks wit dishRadio Jove worked with the Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) program for teacher education workshops, in part, to help with Juno Mission education and public outreach. On July 19-23, 2010 twelve teachers learned how to use the GAVRT and Radio Jove telescopes with their students in a classroom. Teacher workshops open to all K-14 educators. If you are an educator or know an educator who might be interested in using GAVRT and Radio Jove in their classrooms, please contact any member of the Radio Jove team.

+ See GAVRT Web site

[ 16 May 2009 ]
Radio JOVE's booth at the Dayton Hamvention

Photo from previous Dayton HamventionDuring May 14-16, the Radio JOVE project exhibited at the annual Hamvention in Dayton, OH. One of the biggest gatherings of radio amateurs in the world, this event draws thousands of visitors each year.

Radio JOVE shared an exhibit booth with the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) and the Interactive NASA Space Physics Ionosphere Radio Experiments (INSPIRE) project.

[ 14 Apr 2009 ]
Jupiter Season is now in Full Swing!

Wes Greenman chart of Apr 11th Io-B stormWe hope you can join us and observe Jupiter for this season -- the season runs until November 2009. We would like to note that we have even had success observing Jupiter well after sunrise; the reason is that the Sun is so quiet right now. We will have coordinated observing sessions in the future to help you with you observations. Stay tuned for these announcements.

[ 3 Mar 2009 ]
February 10th Solar Burst Caught by RJers

Chart of Feb 10th BurstA strong type III solar burst was observed by a number of Radio JOVE observers on February 10, 2009 at 18:02Z.

No sunspots were visible on the Sun on that date, but the burst was quite strong at 20 MHz.

[ 3 Mar 2009 ]
Radio JOVE to Participate in the 100 Hours of Astronomy Event

One of the coming events for the International Year of Astronomy is the "100 Hours of Astronomy" scheduled for April 2-5, 2009. (See http://www.100hoursofastronomy.org/) . One of the key goals of 100 Hours of Astronomy is to have as many people as possible look through a telescope as Galileo did for the first time 400 years ago. Many star parties and other celebratory events around the world will happen during the 100 Hours.

Radio JOVE would like to participate by having as many radio telescopes as possible running continuously for the 100 hours, sending out their signals on the web for most or all of that time. Even if you can't run your equipment continuously, having it running as much as possible would be wonderful. Another possibility would be to take Radio JOVE equipment to a local star party, set it up, and show others that optical astronomy is not the only way to learn about the universe.

[20 June 2008]
Radio Jove at the Planetary Radio Emissions Discovery Site for Heritage Days

Photo from RJ 2007 Heritage Days boothMembers of Radio Jove will be participating in the Montgomery County, Maryland Heritage Days on Saturday, June 28th from noon to 4pm. They will have an RJ receiver system near the site of the discovery of radio emissions from Jupiter. During this public event they will be talking about the history of the discovery, monitoring the Sun for solar bursts and handing out NASA educational materials.

[ 13 May 2008 ]
Radio JOVE Mourns Passing of Dr. Ron Parise

Photo of Astronaut Ron PariseDr. Ronald A. Parise, one of the original Radio JOVE Project team members and a long-time friend and colleague of many of those on the Project, lost his battle with cancer on May 9, 2008. Ron helped guide Radio JOVE in its early years and developed the first dedicated software for it. Many will remember Ron for his role as payload specialist on Space Shuttle missions STS-35 and STS-67 where he conducted important ultraviolet astronomical observations with the ASTRO-1 and ASTRO-2 payloads.

Our hearts are heavy with this sad news here at Radio JOVE.

[ 2 Apr 2008 ]
Solar Cycle 24 has Begun

Prediction overlay of sunspot cycle 24Solar cycle 24 has been recognized as having begun in early 2008. New solar cycles always begin with a high-latitude, reversed polarity sunspot. The region of magnetism that appeared back in December 2007 achieved high latitude (24 degrees North) and was magnetically reversed, but no supporting sunspot appeared until 25 days later.

We can expect the level of solar activity to increase over the next 4-5 years. (See Observing the Sun.)

[ 6 Nov. 2007 ]
1000th Radio JOVE Kit Celebrated

Recipient with 1000th kitOn July 19, 2007 Radio JOVE celebrated the delivery of the 1000th RJ 1.1 Radio Telescope Kit. Mike Youngdeer, a high school student from Cherokee, NC in the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute's (PARI) 2007 Space Science Lab program was the kit's recipient.

RJ Project Team Members Dr. Jim Thieman and Dr. Chuck Higgins were on hand and presented Mike with the book "Listening to Jupiter", software, and NASA posters and pins.

[ 11 Jul. 2007 ]
Radio JOVE Exhibit at Montgomery County, Maryland Heritage Days
Thumbnail of RJ exhibit On Saturday, June 23, Radio JOVE team members set up at the Jupiter radio emission discovery site near Seneca, Maryland, highlighting this historical event to visitors taking part in Montgomery County's Heritage Days celebration.
[ 11 Jul. 2007 ]
Dr. Kenneth L. Franklin, Co-Discoverer of Jupiter's Radio Emissions, 1923-2007
Thumbnail of Portrait of K. Franklin The Radio JOVE Project mourns the passing of Ken Franklin, astronomer, writer, educator, and co-discoverer of Jupiter's radio emissions. Dr. Franklin passed away on June 18, 2007.
[ 11 May 2006 ]
Student's Radio JOVE Intel Science Fair project wins special award
Hieu Huu Tran, age 16, from Southside High School in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, won the Richard D. Lines Special Award in Astronomy at the 2006 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tran's project was entitled "Radio Interferometry Using 2 NASA RadioJOVEs at 20.1 MHz with Software Implementation in Java".

The Lines Award is presented to a student whose project "best reflects the mission of the International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric Photometry (collaboration between amateurs, students and/or professionals) as well as in observational and/or instrumental astronomy." This award includes a $5000 scholarship for the student and $1000 for Tran's high school's science department.

The Radio JOVE Project Team adds its congratulations, and a hearty well done!
[ 1 Nov. 2005 ]
SSREK
The Solar System Radio Explorer Kiosk (SSREK) will teach visitors about radio waves from Jupiter and the Sun and what they may be telling us about these worlds.
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