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The PULSE@Parkes Project: a New Observing Technique for Long-Term Pulsar Monitoring

G. Hobbs A, R. Hollow A, D. Champion A, J. Khoo A, D. Yardley A B, M. Carr A, M. Keith A, F. Jenet C, S. Amy A, M. Burgay D, S. Burke-Spolaor A E, J. Chapman A, L. Danaia F, B. Homewood G, A. Kovacevic H, M. Mao A I J, D. McKinnon F, M. Mulcahy A, S. Oslowski A E and W. van Straten E

A Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, P.O. Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710
B Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006
C Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy, University of Texas at Brownsville, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA
D Università di Cagliari, Dipartimento di Fisica, SP Monserrato-Sestu km 0.7, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
E Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Vic 3122
F Charles Sturt University, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst, NSW 2795
G Braemar College, Mt Macedon Road, Woodend, Vic 3442
H Department of Physics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109
I Anglo-Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710
J School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 37, Hobart, Tas 7001
K Corresponding author. Email: george.hobbs@csiro.au


Abstract

The PULSE@Parkes project has been designed to monitor the rotation of radio pulsars over time spans of days to years. The observations are obtained using the Parkes 64-m and 12-m radio telescopes by Australian and international high school students. These students learn the basis of radio astronomy and undertake small projects with their observations. The data are fully calibrated and obtained with the state-of-the-art pulsar hardware available at Parkes. The final data sets are archived and are currently being used to carry out studies of 1) pulsar glitches, 2) timing noise, 3) pulse profile stability over long time scales and 4) the extreme nulling phenomenon. The data are also included in other projects such as gamma-ray observatory support and for the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project. In this paper we describe the current status of the project and present the first scientific results from the Parkes 12-m radio telescope. We emphasise that this project offers a straightforward means to enthuse high school students and the general public about radio astronomy while obtaining scientifically valuable data sets.

Keywords: pulsars: general

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 26(4) 468–475    doi:10.1071/AS09021
Submitted: 11 June 2009    Accepted: 28 July 2009    Published: 4 November 2009



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