Interplanetary Scintillation Array

The Interplanetary Scintillation Array (also known as the IPS Array or Pulsar Array) is a radio telescope that was built in 1967 at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and was operated by the Cavendish Astrophysics Group. The instrument originally covered 4 acres (16,000 m²). It was enlarged to 9 acres in 1978, and was refurbished in 1989.

Interplanetary Scintillation Array
Part ofMullard Radio Astronomy Observatory 
Location(s)Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, East of England, England
Coordinates52°09′47″N 0°02′04″E
OrganizationMullard Radio Astronomy Observatory 
Telescope styleradio telescope 
Location of Interplanetary Scintillation Array
Related media on Wikimedia Commons
Chart on which Jocelyn Bell Burnell first recognised evidence of a pulsar, later designated PSR B1919+21 (exhibited at Cambridge University Library)

The array operates at a radio frequency of 81.5 MHz (3.7 m wavelength), and is made up of 4,096 dipole antennas in a phased array. Using 14 beams, it can map the northern sky in one day. The observatory's staff use sheep to keep grass away from the antennas because a lawn mower cannot fit in the spaces.

Antony Hewish designed the IPS Array to measure the high-frequency fluctuations of radio sources, originally for monitoring interplanetary scintillation. Hewish received a Nobel prize after the high time-resolution of the array allowed the detection of pulsars by Jocelyn Bell in 1967.[1]

The IPS Array has more recently been used to track and help forecast interplanetary weather, and specifically to monitor the solar wind. It is now essentially retired, and has lost a significant fraction of its area.

References
  1. "The First Pulsar". astrobites. 15 September 2017.
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