We operate several radio astronomy observatories, telescopes and data archives that are collectively known as the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF). We are comprised of specialists who work across operations, research and technology in radio astronomy.
Modern radio astronomy has become dependent on specialised digital processing hardware and firmware, complex computing infrastructure, large-scale data archives, and processing algorithms optimised for large supercomputers. We have a comprehensive range of expertise along the entire signal chain, from the intricacies of front-end receivers to deploying machine learning algorithms for analysing the vast data volumes contained within our archives.
Our operations team keep our observatories and telescopes operating, even in the remote Murchison region of WA. They support the international user community to gain access to our world-class instruments and data.
Our researchers ensure that our instruments are cutting-edge and capable of carrying out modern radio astronomy research.
Our technology development team is an internationally recognised source of innovative radio astronomy instrumentation. They build and commission the world-leading instruments on our telescopes and explores potential industrial spinoffs.
For two semesters per year, the ATNF accepts Principal Investigator-driven proposals from the national and international community.
The majority of our funding is through CSIRO appropriation. augmented by the sale of telescope time, for astronomy or for space-related activities, and the sale of our technology to other observatories. We also acknowledge support for our operations from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
Our capabilities include:
Our ASKAP radio telescope
With its wide field-of-view, spatial and spectral resolution, frequency coverage, direct links to high performance computing infrastructure, remote autonomous operations model and situation on a legislated radio-quiet site, ASKAP, on Wajarri Yamaji Country, is our newest telescope. It is designed specifically for rapid surveys and hunting for transients sources.
ASKAP consists of:
- 36 dish antennas, each 12m in diameter with baselines up to 6km.
- Phased array feeds on each antenna used to form 36 dual-polarisation primary beams in a frequency range between 0.7 and 1.8 GHz.
Our Australia Telescope Compact Array
ATCA, on Gomeroi Country, responds extremely quickly to automatic triggers of astronomical events, has wide frequency coverage, and flexible array configurations.
ATCA consists of:
- six 22m dish antennas with antenna spacing up to 6km.
- Various receivers enabling observations between 1 GHz and 105 GHz.
- Backend instrumentation allowing for synthesis imaging, transient follow-up, pulsar binning and spectral line observations.
Murriyang, our Parkes radio telescope
Murriyang, on Wiradjuri Country, is used for high cadence monitoring of large numbers of sources such as pulsars, for studying atomic hydrogen in our Galaxy and beyond, and for carrying out continuum and polarisation surveys. Being the primary single-dish telescope in the southern hemisphere, it complements our interferometers by provides the “zero-spacing” information that is critical for surveys of diffuse radio sources and Galactic hydrogen.
Murriyang is a 64-metre prime focus dish. The focus cabin has a receiver translator allowing flexible selection of receivers, including;
- our Ultra-Wide Low-band receiver (UWL), capable of observing between 0.7-4GHz
- our cryogenically cooled phased-array feed cryoPAF receiver, giving a ~1.5 square degree field-of-view between 700 and 1950MHz
Our Long Baseline Array
The LBA is the only Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network in the southern hemisphere. It comprises the ATNF telescopes Murriyang, ATCA and Mopra in conjunction with the University of Tasmania’s telescopes at Mt Pleasant Observatory in Hobart and Ceduna, and the three telescopes of the AusScope Array. Observations regularly include telescopes at Warkworth Observatory in New Zealand and at Hartebeesthoek in South Africa. The LBA also regularly co-observes with other telescopes in the Asia Pacific region and in global VLBI experiments.
The LBA generally operates from L-band to K-band and is generally scheduled during a few weeks each year.
Data processing and archives
Data archives are integral to our activities and include:
- High-time-resolution (pulsar) datasets from Murriyang, archived in the DAP, which can be accessed through the CASDA/DAP portal.
- Science-ready data products from ASKAP are archived in the CSIRO ASKAP Data Science Archive (CASDA) also accessible through the CASDA/DAP portal.
- Spectral line and continuum observations from Murriyang as well as data from ATCA and LBA are archived in the AT Online Archive (ATOA) noting that these products are being progessivle migrated to CASDA.
Surveys and catalogues
We also produce surveys and manage catalogues for the whole community, which are freely available. For example:
- RACS – Using ASKAP, we have produced many iterations of our all-sky survey, the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS), which are freely available to the national and international astronomy community. First completed in 2020, we now have surveys in low, mid and high radio frequencies. Available in our CASDA data archive, these huge data sets are important resources to be used in studies all around the world.
- ATNF Pulsar Catalogue (PSRCAT) – Managed by ATNF staff, this is a comprehensive database of all published pulsars. The ATNF pulsar group produces this database on behalf of the community, but it is also used for online observations of pulsars with our facilities. Building on the success of Parkes in the field of pulsar research, we have continued to be leaders in the field. Ensure any pulsars that you discover become part of the catalogue as soon as possible by following reference guides for your publication.
This website is focused on the needs of ATNF staff and the ATNF user community. To find out more information on all the things we do and how we can work with you to improve your science or engineering, explore this website.
