Gabriela Querino
Research Mentor: Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti
Mentor Department: Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Engineering
Author(s): Dr. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, Gabriela Querino
Session: Session 7 (4:00 PM – 4:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 33
Abstract
Heliophysics is the study of solar energy and matter that originates from the sun and oscillates through the solar system; Heliophysics also involves the study of what is referred to as a solar storm. Solar storms occur when the sun releases large amounts of energy or particles into the solar system. Depending on the size and strength of the solar storm, its effects can be highly detrimental to civilizations on Earth; Due to the alterations solar storms and solar flares cause on the magnetosphere, it is highly probable that they will have great effects on radio signals and navigation systems. These effects, however, can be very easily prevented if researchers are able to predict when solar storms will take place. In 2024, NASA has begun a mission where there are an array of six toaster-size CubeSats that will work together to study solar activity, observing low radio frequency emissions so scientists can understand better how the sun is able to generate intense space weather storms. The SunRISE research team is working to characterize coronal mass ejections, the most violent type of solar weather. The SunRISE team is constructing and managing a ground-based radio antenna array with a frequency range partially overlapping that of SunRISE. This array will support diverse student research activities, including numerical simulations of the antenna gain pattern, drone-based calibration, tracking low-frequency lightning bursts, and imaging the brightest galactic sources. So far, the team has deployed two radio antennas and advanced the development of software analysis pipelines for future SunRISE data. Their next objective is to install a complete six-element radio interferometer at nearby Peach Mountain and create a software pipeline to process and image the collected data.
