The radio telescope operates at a frequency of 1.4 GHz. The installation of the first Spider 500A at SAASST took into consideration our aim to build a 40-m radio interferometer. It took a week to install the two remaining telescopes of the array. The three Spider 500A compose the base interferometer at the top of a rectangular scalene triangle, with distances (sides of a scalene triangle) of 30, 40, and 50 meters. These specific locations simulate the resolution of a 40-m diameter single-dish antenna, with a collecting area equal to an antenna of 8.7 meters in diameter. The synthesized beam in this configuration will measure about 0.36° (21.6 arc minutes).
To have the full function of a three-element interferometer, three main points were considered: (1) upgrade the RF cables to fiber optics to avoid signal losses, and uncertainties in the timing of the signal coming from every radio telescope; (2) add the multi-million channel backend to every Spider 500A receiver; and (3) add the interferometer correlator that will allow you to create the high-resolution map from the interferometer.
This new acquisition would not have been if it were not for the great support of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the University of Sharjah. The academy was established in 2015 by His Highness to be a world leader in space sciences research and make the United Arab Emirates a scientific hub in the Gulf area.
HE Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, and SAASST General Director played a vital role in the establishment of SAASST as a scientific institution. His constant support for all the research laboratories has allowed the academy to be worldwide known in space sciences researchers. The establishment of the different research laboratories (CubeSat, Radio Astronomy, Meteorite, Space Weather, Sharjah Optical Observatory, High-Energy Astrophysics) has made of SAASST a unique research center in the Gulf area. During the last two years, the academy published more than 30 scientific papers and articles in peer-reviewed journals. More is to come with the newly-installed 40-m radio interferometer.
Special Thanks to all those who helped in building the 40-m radio interferometer: Issam Abu-Jami, Mohamed Baker Rihan, Anas Omar Adwan, Ibrahim Al-Sabt, Asmaa Abdulsalam Alhameed, Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh, Ayesha Javed Ahmad Butt, Sahith Madara, Shahab Mohammad Zarafshan, and employees from the Facilities Management and Planning Department (Univ. of Sharjah), Mr. Murugesh, Ramadan, Anwar, Saheb ...
