Australia Telescope National Facility

The ATNF is holding a workshop devoted to the fundamentals of interferometry and synthesis imaging in radio astronomy, at the Compact Array (near Narrabri) during the week 24-28 September. The target audience is postgraduate students and other interested members of the astronomy community. No previous knowledge of synthesis imaging is assumed. There will be some bias towards techniques and astronomy using ATNF facilities.

The material covered will range from the basics through to some more advanced topics. This will include some introduction to the ATCA as a millimetre-wave instrument. The workshop will include some hands-on experience of using the ATCA.

Postgraduate level students are particularly encouraged to attend and some financial assistance will be available.

Lectures and tutorials will be conducted at the ATCA site near Narrabri, from Monday morning 24th September to Friday afternoon 28th September.

What's New

Preparations for the workshop are well in hand, and we look forward to seeing you in Narrabri during the workshop.

The program has been finalised. Some information about the practical sessions is now available. Participants may like to read these before the workshop. If you intend to do one of the Miriad data analysis projects, you can optionally bring your own data to work on.

The workshop's evaluation questionnaire is also available on-line.

Accommodation

Accomodation will be in Narrabri motels as well as economical "cabins" in a Narrabri caravan park. Transport will be provided each day between the township and the ATCA site. Although accomodation will be organised for attendees, you will be responsible for paying the motel/caravan park directly. Estimates of the prices of the accomodation will be available shortly.

Further details available here

Student Assistance

Students can apply for assistance to attend the workshop. The assistance may consist of a contribution towards the "cabins"-style accommodation during the workshop. For students from outside NSW/ACT, the equivalent of a return bus or airfare (depending on distances involved) from your city/town to Sydney may be available. Please apply for assistance early. Applications for assistance close on 28 July (generally assistance will not be available for late registrants).

Textbook and workshop material

The textbook for the workshop will be the VLA workshop book, "Synthesis in radio astronomy II", published by the Astronomy Society of the Pacific. The ATNF has a supply of these books, which we are selling at cost price to those interested (this is a more economical than you buying the book from ASP directly). The cost price is $100 (the Australian dollar is weak!). For those that pay for the book as part of the registration, we plan to distribute the copies before the workshop. Provided stocks last, copies of the book will also be available for purchase at the workshop.

We intend to place most of the lecturers material on the web at about the time of the workshop.

Transport

Narrabri is 530km north-west of Sydney. It can be reached by air (QantasLink) and rail (Country Link) from Sydney. Narrabri is approximately an 8 hour drive from Sydney. Note that the end of the workshop coincides with the start of NSW school holidays. The workshop also overlaps with Victorian and Queensland school holidays. Travel plans should be made well in advance.

The formal workshop lectures will finish at lunchtime on Friday 28th. There will be optional bushwalk and other activities on Friday afternoon.

We will be providing daily transport between Narrabri township and the ATCA.

If there is sufficient interest, the ATNF will charter a bus between Sydney and Narrabri. The bus will leave the Sunday before the workshop, and return the Saturday afterwards. The ATNF will charge $100 for passengers of this bus.

Further details available here.

Workshop fees

The workshop registration fee is $100 for students, and $200 for others. A late fee of $10 now applies (deadline was 28 July). The workshop includes all lunches at the array plus two workshop dinners. As noted above, the workshop textbook (optional) is an additional $100, and a charge of $100 is made to those using the CSIRO bus between Narrabri and Sydney.

Speakers are exempt from fees. Scheduled ATCA observers for this week are welcome to attend the workshop, exempt from the registration fee (normal observer accomodation fees still apply). To help determine numbers, speakers and observers should still register (select "speaker" or "observer" in the status box).