Pierre Kauffman Radio Observatory (Portuguese: Rádio Observatório Pierre Kauffman - ROPK), also known as the Itapetinga Radio Observatory (Portuguese: Rádio Observatório de Itapetinga - ROI), is a radio observatory located in the municipality of

Atibaia Atibaia (or ''Estância de Atibaia'') is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The name is derived from an indigenous language called Tupi, and means "healthy water river". Its name has changed over time, from the primitive ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is located approximately south of Atibaia and north of

. ROI was founded in 1970 by

Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie Mackenzie Presbyterian University (Portuguese: ''Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie'') is a private university in São Paulo, Brazil. The Mackenzie Presbyterian University is an institution of higher learning that has strong tradition and history ...

(UPM). Control of the facility was passed to the

National Institute for Space Research The National Institute for Space Research ( pt, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, INPE) is a research unit of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, the main goals of which are fostering scientific research an ...

(INPE) in 1982. Today it is managed jointly by INPE, UPM, University do Vale do Paraíba (Univap),

Universidade de São Paulo The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

(USP), and Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI). In addition to the telescopes, the observatory has living quarters for visiting scientists. ROI is located inside a small

radio quiet zone A radio quiet zone is an area where radio transmissions are restricted in order to protect a radio telescope or a communications station from radio frequency interference. The Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) def ...

. It was renamed in 2016 after Pierre Kauffman.

Telescopes

* A

dish antenna A parabolic antenna is an antenna that uses a parabolic reflector, a curved surface with the cross-sectional shape of a parabola, to direct the radio waves. The most common form is shaped like a dish and is popularly called a dish antenna or p ...

was completed in 1974. It is housed in a

radome A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna e ...

which was replaced in 1990. It observes in bands from 18 GHz to 26 GHz and 40 GHz to 50 GHz simultaneously. It is used for both astronomical and solar observations. * The Solar Patrol Equipment (Portuguese: Equipamento de Patrulhamento Solar - SPUA) is an array of dish antennas on a common mount. It monitors intensity and linear polarization of radio waves from the Sun at 12 GHz. * The Solar Radio Polarimeter (Portuguese: Rádio Polarímetro Solar - RaPoSo) is a antenna with two low-noise receivers centered at 7 GHz. It monitors the intensity and

circular polarization In electrodynamics, circular polarization of an electromagnetic wave is a polarization state in which, at each point, the electromagnetic field of the wave has a constant magnitude and is rotating at a constant rate in a plane perpendicular to ...

of radio waves from the Sun. It was originally located at UPM's defunct Umuarama Radio Observatory near

Campos do Jordão Campos do Jordão () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 52,405 (2020 est.) in an area of . The city is situated above s ...

and is the oldest telescope at ROI.

References

{{Portal bar, Brazil, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in Brazil Buildings and structures in São Paulo (state) Radio telescopes

Telescopes

See also

References