New European consortium launches to enhance space observation

Posted on: 25 January 2024

LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) is an international network of state-of-the-art telescopes used to observe the Universe in unprecedented detail at low radio frequencies. The European Commission officially set up LOFAR as a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) in December 2023, with Ireland as one of its founding members. And the ERIC was officially launched earlier this week.

LOFAR ERIC will provide easy access to a wide range of science research services for the European and global community. It will also facilitate a substation upgrade to the radio array and serve the European astronomy community with a cutting-edge suite of observing and data processing capabilities.

The I-LOFAR array as seen from above.

Evan Keane, Head of the I-LOFAR Telescope, and an associate professor in Trinity College Dublin’s School of Physics, said: “The Irish LOFAR Facility at Birr Castle will be upgraded and, as a result, will be able to make more sensitive observations of astronomical objects as part of the largest low-frequency radio telescope in the world. The upgraded LOFAR will produce ever-more enormous volumes of data, which makes it an exemplar of cutting-edge, big data science.”

Simon Harris, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, welcomed Ireland’s involvement in founding the ERIC.

He said: “I am very pleased that Ireland is one of the founding members of the LOFAR ERIC, a new European research organisation that will facilitate closer international cooperation in areas such as physics, astrophysics and high-end computing. Ireland has a long-established and internationally recognised heritage in astronomy, and the LOFAR ERIC gives our students and researchers access to the largest low frequency radio telescope in the world.”

Dr René Vermeulen, founding director of LOFAR ERIC, said: “The establishment of the LOFAR ERIC consolidates world-leading excellence for Europe in an important research field. With its unrivalled distributed research infrastructure and its robust pan-European partnership, the LOFAR ERIC enters the European Research Area as a powerhouse at the cutting edge of astronomy science and technology, with the potential to contribute to broader complex challenges.”

Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of the I-LOFAR Consortium at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, said: “The Irish LOFAR Consortium are delighted to be founding members of the LOFAR ERIC. The LOFAR ERIC will give us access to the very best low-frequency radio observations of astronomical objects and we are delighted that the project continues to be supported by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Science Foundation Ireland.”

The LOFAR ERIC held its first council meeting this week. The Founding Members are Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, and it will have close collaborations with institutes in France, Latvia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

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