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High-resolution radio astronomy: An outlook for Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2021

Leonid I. Gurvits ,
Robert Beswick ,
Melvin Hoare ,
Ann Njeri ,
Jay Blanchard ,
Carla Sharpe ,
Adrian Tiplady  and
Aletha de Witt
Leonid I. Gurvits
Affiliation:
Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands email: [email protected] Dept. of Astrodynaics & Space Missions, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, The Netherlands CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
Robert Beswick
Affiliation:
Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The Alan Turing Building, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Oxford Road, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Melvin Hoare
Affiliation:
School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Ann Njeri
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Oxford Road, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
Jay Blanchard
Affiliation:
Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands email: [email protected] National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box O, 1003 Lopezville Rd., Socorro, NM 87801, USA
Carla Sharpe
Affiliation:
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, 2 Fir Street, Black River Park, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
Adrian Tiplady
Affiliation:
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, 2 Fir Street, Black River Park, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
Aletha de Witt
Affiliation:
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, 2 Fir Street, Black River Park, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa
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Abstract

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Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) offers unrivalled resolution in studies of celestial radio sources. The subjects of interest of the current IAU Symposium, the Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) of all types, constitute the major observing sample of modern VLBI networks. At present, the largest in the world in terms of the number of telescopes and geographical coverage is the European VLBI Network (EVN), which operates under the “open sky” policy via peer-reviewed observing proposals. Recent EVN observations cover a broad range of science themes from high-sensitivity monitoring of structural changes in inner AGN areas to observations of tidal eruptions in AGN cores and investigation of redshift-dependent properties of parsec-scale radio structures of AGN. All the topics above should be considered as potentially rewarding scientific activities of the prospective African VLBI Network (AVN), a natural “scientific ally” of EVN. This contribution briefly describe the status and near-term strategy for the AVN development as a southern extension of the EVN-AVN alliance and as an eventual bridge to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) with its mid-frequency core in South Africa.

Keywords

Radio astronomyVLBI
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 15 , Symposium S356: Nuclear Activity in Galaxies Across Cosmic Time , October 2019 , pp. 137 - 142
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Astronomical Union

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