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Interference with Astronomical Observations of OH Masers from the Soviet Union’s GLONASS Satellites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

John Galt*
Affiliation:
Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, Penticton, BC, CANADA

Extract

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Measurements at the 1612 MHz OH line are necessary to identify and study an important class of highly evolved stars whose properties cannot be determined by other means. Observing at this frequency over an 18 month period has been a frustrating experience in “sharing” a small portion of the 1610-1626.5 MHz frequency allocation on a secondary basis with the Aeronautical Radionavigation Service. Transmissions from the GLONASS satellite system are so powerful that they are received in the side lobes and back lobes of the radio telescope, no matter where in the sky it is pointing as long as one satellite is above the horizon. On most days about half the observations had to be discarded to prevent spurious satellite signals from masquerading as astronomical spectral lines.

Type
Radio Frequency Interference
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1991

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