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Novice's Guide to Using the VLBA
The VLBA is a system of 10 identical telescopes, separated by
distances ranging from 200 km to 8600 km, that can be used to observe
and image a variety of compact radio sources having brightness
temperatures higher than ~106K. The telescopes are capable
of observing in 10 frequency bands ranging from 300 MHz to 86GHz.
These pages are a guide to using the VLBA, aimed specifically at
inexperienced users, but also useful to fill in knowledge gaps for
more experienced observers. They are intended to address the
more-than-90% of all observations that might be classified as
"standard" and relatively simple to make.
The pathway from proposal to final product is similar to the
VLA, and to telescopes operating in most wavebands. For
completeness, we list the basic steps below, as well as
the organization or individual who has the responsibility
of carrying out the steps. Each step is then described
in more detail in succeeding sections. (Note that "PI"
stands for the Principal Investigator and his/her
science team.)
- Proposal - PI (assistance from documentation)
- Refereeing - Outside referees and NRAO
- Observing Allocation - NRAO
- Schedule Preparation - PI (NRAO service available for some users)
- Observations - VLBA operations
- Correlation, Data Validation and Distribution - VLBA operations
- Calibration - PI (Data pipeline available)
- Imaging and Analysis - PI (NRAO advice/assistance available)
- Scientific Results and Publications - PI
Modified on
Monday, 21-Mar-2005 08:33:47 MST
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