UNC Asheville's Radio Dipole Array for Astrophysical Research (UNCA RADAR)

Using the Radio JOVE receiver and off-the-shelf components, UNC Asheville has constructed their first ever radio telescope. This array consists of two copper-wire dipole antennas attached to a RSP1A receiver from a UK company SDRPlay. This poster will outline what methods were used to build and test the array, as well give information about measurements of the dipoles' sensitivy patterns using a commercial drone. The antenna and receiver setup is sensitive to frequencies between 16 and 24 MHz; a frequency range ideal for studying plasma emissions from Jupiter and the Sun. Thus this array will be used to make studies of both Solar and Jovian radio bursts to better characterize the magentic processes that produce these emissions. Additionally data from this telescope will be used to develop a citizen science project around detecting and identifying different types of radio bursts from the Sun. The presented poster will show some preliminary observations of both Solar and Jovian radio bursts detected by this new telescope.