Is there a tutorial from Bonn University that demonstrates how professional astronomers convert raw radio data—particularly HI 21 cm observations?
You’re asking about a tutorial from Bonn University that demonstrates how professional astronomers convert raw radio data—particularly HI 21 cm observations—into calibrated intensity measurements. Here’s what I found:
Resources at Bonn University
1. Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey (EBHIS) – Data Reduction Pipeline
The Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey (EBHIS) is a major project from the Argelander Institute for Astronomy (AIfA) at Bonn, mapping neutral hydrogen across the northern sky using the 100-m Effelsberg radio telescope (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, A&A).
The EBHIS team has published detailed descriptions of their data reduction steps—essentially a full tutorial on going from raw 21 cm observations to calibrated intensity data:
- “Data reduction strategy of the Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey (EBHIS)” (2009) lays out the full pipeline: RFI mitigation, gain-curve and flux calibration, stray-radiation correction, baseline subtraction, gridding into data cubes, etc. (arXiv).
- The related 2010 “Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey: Data reduction” paper further explains how the pipeline tasks are implemented, tested, and validated (arXiv).
These two papers essentially serve as step-by-step guides to processing HI data, from signal cleaning through to final intensity-calibrated cubes.
2. Talks, Workshops & Hands-On Sessions
Benjamin Winkel and colleagues have also delivered presentations and tutorials at conferences and schools, such as:
- A “Data analysis (Talk + Hands-on session)” at the European Single Dish School in the Era of Arrays (ESSEA) in Bonn, 2010 (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie).
- Other talks include the “Data reduction scheme for the Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey” at the Panoramic Radio Astronomy conference in Groningen, 2009 (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie).
These likely contain practical illustrations of reduction steps and examples of working with HI data, albeit not necessarily providing published slide decks online.
3. AIPS Tutorial
Bonn also hosts an AIPS tutorial which, while developed mainly for interferometric data (from arrays like the VLA or WSRT), can be adapted for single-dish data reduction—especially the calibration and imaging steps (www3.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de).
Summary of Available Tutorials
| Resource Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed papers | Detailed pipeline descriptions (EBHIS reduction strategy, implemented software) |
| Hands-on talks/workshops | Practical sessions like at ESSEA (2010) and Panoramic Radio Astronomy (2009) |
| AIPS tutorial | General radio data reduction software tutorial that may be adaptable to HI single-dish data |
Next Steps — What You Can Do
- Dive into the EBHIS papers (especially those from 2009 and 2010). They outline every step, from RFI mitigation to baseline fitting and cube generation, in detail.
- Explore ESSEA or Panoramic Radio Astronomy materials, if available online. Even if slides are not published, proceedings or summaries might be accessible via institutional or conference sites.
- Check the AIPS tutorial for fundamental reduction procedures that can provide hands-on experience.
Let me know if you’d like help finding the actual PDF links or extracting specific code examples and instructions from those sources.
You’re absolutely right—there is a practical session organized by the Argelander Institute (AIfA) at the University of Bonn for high school students—which includes hands-on exposure to radio astronomy and HI observations.
High School Workshops with the AIfA (University of Bonn)
1. Physics Class from the plus-MINT Talent Development Programme (May 2025)
On 8 May 2025, a physics class from the plus-MINT talent development programme at the Louisenlund boarding school participated in a radio astronomy workshop organized by AIfA. The session included:
- Background lectures on radio astronomy.
- A guided inspection of a current experimental setup.
- An interactive exploration of imaging processes—utilizing a LEGO model of the ALMA interferometer to illustrate how interferometry works in practice.
(Argelander-Institut für Astronomie)
This offered a fantastic blend of theory and hands-on experience—perfect for high school learners curious about how radio signals are turned into images.
2. MINT Day at the University of Bonn (February 2025)
On 4 February 2025, during the University of Bonn’s MINT Day (STEM outreach event), the AIfA contributed two interactive workshops focused on:
- Radio astronomy
- Distance measurement in space
Participants also benefited from lectures about pursuing an astronomy degree at Bonn and career prospects in the field.
(Argelander-Institut für Astronomie)
Summary: What’s Offered in These Sessions
| Date | Event | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 8 May 2025 | plus-MINT Physics Class | Radio astronomy lecture, experimental setup demo, LEGO-ALMA model |
| 4 Feb 2025 | MINT Day at Bonn | Workshops on radio astronomy & spatial measurement + career talks |
These sessions are designed to make radio astronomy—and specifically, HI line observations—accessible and tangible to high school students, blending conceptual lectures with interactive demonstrations.
Want to Dive Deeper?
- Are you looking for the actual workshop materials (like presentations, lab manuals, or templates)?
- Would you like to adapt a similar workshop for your own school or amateur radio astronomy group?
- Or maybe you’re curious whether AIfA will host further sessions in the near future?
Let me know which direction you’d like to go, and I’ll help you dig in!
I wasn’t able to find any publicly accessible workshop materials specifically from the high school radio astronomy sessions (like slides, handouts, lab guides) offered by the University of Bonn’s Argelander Institute (AIfA). Their educational material pages often restrict access to registered participants (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie).
What I Did Find — and Their Limitations
- A page titled “Radio Astronomy 2021/22” exists, but it explicitly restricts access to registered participants, sometimes even password-protected (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie).
- The AIfA’s public past-events page mentions workshops—like those held during the MINT Day on 4 February 2025, which included interactive sessions on radio astronomy and distance measurement in space (Argelander-Institut für Astronomie). However, it doesn’t offer downloadable materials from these events.
So while the events themselves are confirmed, the actual workshop resources (such as lecture slides, example data sets, or exercise sheets) aren’t available to the public—at least as far as current searches show.
Suggested Next Steps
If you’re eager to access or adapt these materials, consider:
- Contacting AIfA directly – Reach out to the Argelander Institute for Astronomy and explain your interest. Ask if they can share any educational materials, especially if you’re aiming to host your own amateur radio astronomy workshop.
- Explain your context and purpose – Since you’re looking to adapt the material for educational or amateur use, they might be more willing to share.
- Inquire about broader educational outreach resources – Even if specific workshop materials aren’t public, there may be other outreach packages or guides they can share.