New LOFAR radio telescope provides its first high-quality images

Astronomers in the UK are celebrating the arrival of the first high-quality images from a new radio telescope in the Netherlands.

LOFAR, which stands for Low Frequency Array, is a 'next generation' radio telescope consisting of a network of small antennae across the north east of the Netherlands. These first high-quality images were provided by data from 96 'low band' antennae in the province of Drenthe, sent via a dedicated glass-fibre link to a central processing facility at the University of Groningen, some 60km away.

Project leader of the LOFAR:UK group, Professor Rob Fender of the University of Southampton's School of Physics and Astronomy, said: "Once the network is complete it will form the largest radio telescope ever built, opening up a new window on the Universe.

"It will consist of 15,000 small antennae, distributed over 77 stations in the north east of the Netherlands and neighbouring parts of Germany. There are plans to extend its range by building stations elsewhere in Germany and in the UK, France, Sweden, Poland and Italy. Already more than twelve UK universities have joined our group and we have raised nearly €1 million in funds, enough to build the first UK station this summer."

Professor Steve Rawlings of Oxford University, also a leading member of LOFAR:UK, added: "LOFAR will be a world-beating telescope in its own right, and a critical first step on the pathway to the next-generation radio telescope the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)."