Metsähovi Radio Observatory turned 50 this year. To celebrate the anniversary, we organised a three-part Tähtitiistai lecture series.
This year, Aalto University’s Metsähovi Radio Observatory celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The speakers talked about the history of Finnish space research, the secrets of black holes, quasars, Earth-sized telescopes and solar research. Watch the recordings now and find out more about upcoming events at Marsio.
Located in Kirkkonummi, southern Finland, Metsähovi Radio Observatory collects information on the Sun, quasars, and black holes, while training space scientists of the future.
The research activities at Metsähovi are concentrated on radio observations done at millimetre waves and microwaves (2-150 GHz). The main areas are solar millimeter and microwave radiation, variable quasars and active galaxies, and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI).
The research in technology includes development of data acquisition, data processing, receivers and receiving methods. Metsähovi hosts researchers and students especially from the Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering and the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO.
The backbone of Metsähovi's observations are the long-term lightcurves of radio-bright active galaxies at high radio frequencies. Our 37 GHz light curves span four decades for many sources.
The Sun is the nearest star and thus a premium target for observations to understand how stars work.
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a technique where radio telescopes all over the world are all observing the same source at the same time at the same frequency, thus operating as one gigantic virtual telescope.
Metsähovi staff supervise and instruct all kinds of student theses from a wide variety of fields, from mechatronics to software engineering and photography to machine learning. Cross- and multidisciplinary student projects often involve supervising professor from an applicable field, and an instructor from Metsähovi.
If you are interested in applying the tools and skills of your own field in an astronomical project, don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] to discuss how the project could be realised!
Metsähovi is the centre for Aalto University's radio astronomy studies, but the observatory staff also supervise student theses and projects in various different fields.
In addition to the usual student projects, we sometimes have openings for paid internships, civilian service posts, or funded diploma thesis projects.
Metsähovi operates multiple instruments for studying the universe in radio frequencies. In addition to operating and developing radio telescopes and their receivers, Metsähovi also runs extremely accurate atomic clocks and specialized computers for interferometric observations.
Metsähovi operates multiple instruments for studying the universe in radio frequencies. In addition to operating and developing radio telescopes and their receivers, Metsähovi also runs extremely accurate atomic clocks and specialized computers for interferometric observations.
The essential feature of a radio astronomy receiver is the capability to detect very weak radio signals as sensitively as possible. In radio telescopes and antennas, the receiver is the central part, doing the actual data collecting.
The location of a radio observatory needs to be known precisely. The Metsähovi 14-metre radio telescope's coordinates are one of the most accurately known in Finland. In fact, the Finnish coordinates are partly based on measurement done in Metsähovi.
Metsähovintie 114, 02540 Kylmälä
Contact details for all people working at the radio observatory.