Topic outline

  • Important: 

    We have the following four mandatory practise sessions in this course: 1) Friday January 20 10-12 or Friday 27 10-12 (you can choose one of these!) in Metsähovi; 2) Friday February 9 10-12 in Metsähovi or Otaniemi (TBD); 3) Friday March 6 10-12 in Otaniemi4)Additionally, there will be mandatory observing shifts of 12 hours, from 18-06 (through the night!) at the observatory in small student groups during weeks 10-12 (March 6 - March 24), one night per group; the groups will be formed and exact dates scheduled in February. Exception: If you are feeling unwell on the day of the live practise session, do not attend, but  contact the lecturers for making alternative arrangements!

    Note: The lecture time & location information appearing in MyCourses on the "Upcoming Events" is automatically generated from Sisu, do not rely on that information but the information given on this page! Also note that the lectures are not evenly distributed, pay attention to this schedule!

    Weekly schedule

    Mon 9.1. 14-16 Lecture:  Introduction to the course, and practicalities. Overview of the radio universe. History of radio astronomy. Recap of astronomy fundamentals (from Introduction to Space). (Merja Tornikoski)

    Mon 16.1. 14-16 Lecture: Radio Sun. Space weather. (Tornikoski)

    Fri 20.1. 10-12 First mandatory practise session at the observatory, Group 1/2 (you can book your group during the first lecture), transportation will be arranged. Topics: Radio astronomy instrumentation. Antennas. RFI. (Kallunki, Kirves, Tornikoski) Prework: Read & calculate! 

    Mon 23.1. 14-16 Lecture: Emission mechanisms. Radio Milky Way. (Quentin Salomé)

    Fri 27.1. 10-12 First mandatory practise session at the observatory, Group 2/2 (you can book your group during the first lecture), transportation will be arranged. Topics: Radio astronomy instrumentation. Antennas. RFI. (Kallunki, Kirves, Suutarinen) Prework: Read & calculate! 

    Mon 30.1. 14-16  Lecture: Extragalactic radio astronomy. Quasars and other Active Galactic Nuclei. (Tornikoski)

    Mon 6.2. 14-16 Lecture: Single dish observations. (Tornikoski)

    Fri 10.2. 10-12 Second mandatory practise session: Single dish observations. This will take place at campus lecture room (TU3). (Tornikoski) Prework: Read material, make observability calculations. 

    Mon 13.2. 14-16 Voluntary drop-in session for any questions regarding coordinate calculations and assignments. (Suutarinen)

    Sun 19.2. midnight Deadline for the first assignment.

    Mon 27.2. 14-16 Lecture: Introduction to interferometry. (Tuomas Savolainen)

    Fri 3.3. 10-12  Lecture: Very Long Baseline Interferometry, VLBI. (Savolainen)

    Mon 6.3. 14-16 Third mandatory practise session: exercises in VLBI, on campus. Prework: Install sw on your laptop. (Savolainen)

    Week 10-12. A 12-h observing night at the observatory in small groups. Groups will be defined and the exact dates allocated in February. This is the fourth mandatory practise session! (Car pooling recommended to get to Metsähovi!) Prework: plan the observing night's schedule with your team.(Several staff members share supervising duties)

    Sun 19.3.  Extended deadline for the second assignment

    Mon 13.3. 14-16  Lecture : Life in the universe. Search for extraterrestrial intelligence. (Tornikoski)

    Mon 20.3. 14-16 Lecture: Cosmology and cosmic microwave background. (Visiting lecturer Prof. Hannu Kurki-Suonio, University of Helsinki) [this lecture was swapped from an earlier time to here due to Hannu's schedule constraints]

    Mon 27.3. 14-16 Lecture: Future of radio astronomy. Recapitulation of the course. (Tornikoski)

    Sun 2.4. midnight Deadline for the last (third) assignment.

    Wed 19.4. 14-16 Course exam.

    Mon 8.5. 16:30 Retake exam.