Amateur-Professional Collaboration in Radio Astronomy

Presenter(s): John Sarkissian

Affiliation(s): CSIRO Parkes Telescope, CWAS

Session details: Saturday, 2020-04-11 02:00:00, STAR

Abstract

Through out history there have been many examples of Pro-Am collaboration in optical astronomy. However, there has been precious little in the radio astronomy field. This talk will describe examples of recent radio astronomy Pro-Am collaborations, and how this area of amateur involvement can be expanded. A number of simple, but vital, collaborative projects will be presented for discussion. In addition, the CSIRO Parkes Observatory’s 12-meter antenna is being upgraded as an engineering and outreach instrument with the possibility of making it available for Pro-Am projects. The talk will conclude with how the upgraded antenna might be used for Pro-Am collaboration.

Biography

John Sarkissian OAM, is an Operations Scientist at the CSIRO Parkes Radio Observatory. His main responsibilities are the science operations at the radio telescope, and the support of remote astronomers with their observations. In addition, he is involved in pulsar research – an exciting field of radio astronomy. John is a member of the ATNF Science Operations Team which provides the front-line support for the CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) telescopes. Since 2003, John has been a member of the small, informal team searching for the missing Apollo 11 slow-scan TV tapes. From 1998-1999, John acted as a technical advisor for the feature film, “The DISH”.. John is currently working on upgrading the CSIRO Parkes Observatory’s 12-meter antenna as a research and outreach instrument with the possibility of making it available for Pro-Am collaboration.