Hercules A

Hercules A
Radio-Optical View of the Galaxy Hercules A - Many thanks to: NASA, ESA, S. Baum and C. O'Dea (RIT), R. Perley and W. Cotton (NRAO/AUI/NSF), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Third LOFAR Data Processing School November 17-23 2014

I note an announcement from Michael Wise, ASTRON  The Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dwingeloo Netherlands :

http://www.astron.nl/

http://www.astron.nl/about-astron/information-about-astron

http://www.astron.nl/about-astron/history-astron/history-astron

"...The Third LOFAR Data Processing School will take place on Nov. 17-23, 2014 at ASTRON in Dwingeloo, the Netherlands. The school will be hosted by the Radio Observatory at ASTRON and the LOFAR project.

LOFAR has entered its operational phase, and has started delivering scientific and unique data in the relatively unexplored spectral window below 200 MHz. At the present time, 46 operational stations are part of the LOFAR array, of which 38 are located in the Netherlands, and 8 are in Germany, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom. New stations will soon be built in Germany and Poland. In parallel, the first versions of several of LOFAR's science pipelines have been developed and are able to generate scientific data products to the numerous users who have obtained observing and processing time through the past and current Cycles.

As with the first two LOFAR data schools, the aim of this workshop is to introduce the LOFAR system to new members of the collaboration who will analyse Cycle data. Students, postdocs, and staff are all encouraged to attend. The school will cover the many aspects of the LOFAR system from the capabilities of the basic station hardware to the software pipelines and science products they produce. Lectures and tutorials will be presented by members of the LOFAR project team as well as staff from the many institutions involved in the collaboration. Hands-on sessions will also be provided to give attendees an opportunity to gain experience with real LOFAR data.

Presentations will be given at a level appropriate for someone new to LOFAR. Familiarity with the concepts of radio interferometry and standard data processing software such as CASA, AIPS, or Myriad will be useful, but not required. Minimum requirements should include some familiarity with scripting languages and in particular Python. Parallel sessions for more expert students are also planned.

Attendance will be limited to approximately 40 people. Initial preference will be given to applicants from teams with accepted Cycle projects. Space will however be reserved for applicants from the general astronomical community, so all potential LOFAR users are encouraged to apply.

Workshop attendees will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs while attending the workshop.

More details about the Third LOFAR Data Processing School will be circulated during the next few weeks. A registration form and methods of payment of the registration fee will be made available online.

You will be reminded by email to visit the website once the registration opens. In the meantime, please mark the dates in your calendars. We look forward to seeing many of you in the Autumn in Dwingeloo..."