HartRAO Home

HartRAO Home > news > First Pulsar Observations with the NCCS 2001/10/12


First Pulsar Observations with the NCCS 2001/10/12

The first test observations of pulsars using HartRAO's Linux-based New Control Computer System (NCCS) for the 26m telescope were made successfully on 2001 10 12 by Sarah Buchner. The Vela pulsar (PSR 0833-45) and PSR 1641-45 were both observed succesfully. Plots of the average pulse profiles are shown below.

While this represents an engineering / test capability and not yet an operational capability, it is an important step forward in transferring single-dish observing from the HP1000 to the NCCS.

vela

1641

The timer used for the tests was the single channel Mark I pulsar timer, in use for many years at HartRAO. A new pulsar timer is being designed and built in the Department of physics and Electronics at Rhodes University by MSc student Adrian Tiplady, supervised by Prof. Justin Jonas, as a collaborative project with HartRAO. This will have much improved capability, with greater bandwidth and multiple channels.