New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) Researchers have for the first time used the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to study the disturbances in the earth’s ionosphere, which till now was observed using satellites.
A better understanding of the ionosphere can help improve the accuracy of positioning, navigation and timing services, popularly known as GPS services, and also studying radio galaxies, said Sarvesh Mangala of the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics.
Mangla is the lead author of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Mangla and his mentor Prof Abhirup Datta of IIT-Indore successfully detected multiple medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) with a range of 100 to 300 km and small-scale TIDs of approximately 10 km, at the observing frequencies of 235 MHz and 610 MHz.
Mangla was with the IIT-Indore and has recently joined the NCRA.
The study claims to have observed unexpected changes in the ionosphere during the sunrise hours, significant ionospheric disturbances, and smaller-scale structures moving in the same direction.
The researchers leveraged the GMRT’s “exceptional” sensitivity to detect and characterise TIDs in a nearly nine-hour observation taken on the intervening night between August 5 and 6, 2012.
“While previous studies have investigated ionospheric disturbances at mid-latitude and high-latitude, this study is one of the first to employ a low-latitude instrument (placed closer to the Earth’s magnetic equator) effectively for detecting changes in electron density in the ionosphere,” Datta from the Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Space Engineering, IIT Indore, told PTI.
The findings can improve the knowledge and models of the ionosphere, leading to better technologies and more accurate measurements for navigation and communication.
Unlike Global Navigation Satellite System measurements, radio telescopes are not traditional probes to study the ionospheric.
However, the GMRT, located in the low-latitude region, has proven to be very effective in detecting various ionospheric phenomena.
“Using the GMRT, the authors have demonstrated the capability to achieve precise measurements of ionospheric variations with higher sensitivity compared to GPS and radar instruments,” said a statement from the NCRA, which operates the GMRT in Khodad, about 80 km from Pune.
“This kind of result is something we had all along believed to be possible with the GMRT, and I am very pleased this team led by colleagues from IIT Indore has clearly demonstrated this, thereby opening a new window of research with the GMRT,” said Yashwant Gupta, Centre Director of the NCRA, a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. PTI KRS KRS SKU VN VN
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