Prof Peter Gallagher Elected Chair of LOFAR Radio Telescope ERIC Council

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The I-LOFAR Consortium welcomes the appointment of Professor Peter Gallagher, Head of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Director of Dunsink Observatory at DIAS as the new chair of the LOFAR ERIC Council, effective from 1 January 2026.

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 established the LOFAR European Research Infrastructure (ERIC) in December 2023, with Ireland as one of its founding members. The LOFAR ERIC provides access to a wide range of radio astronomy services for the European and global community providing a cutting-edge suite of observing and data processing capabilities from the LOFAR radio telescope.

Professor Gallagher was responsible for establishing the Irish LOFAR radio telescope in at Birr Castle Demesne in County Offaly in 2017, and has served as Head of the I-LOFAR Consortium since then. He is also involved in numerous European Space Agency and NASA space missions and is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin.

Commenting on his election, Professor Gallagher said: “I am honoured to take on this role at such an important time for LOFAR ERIC. The coming years will see major upgrades to LOFAR, and I look forward to working closely with all member countries to realise these opportunities.”

Professor Peter T. Gallagher Pic Paul Sharp/SHARPPIX

The LOFAR ERIC Council is the governing body of the LOFAR radio telescope consortium, providing overall oversight and direction for the world’s largest and most sensitive low frequency radio telescope.

I-LOFAR Supporting ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter Science Operations

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The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter space mission was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral in February 2020. Since then, it has been winding its way into the inner solar system through a series of gravity-assists with Earth and Venus.

From March 11 to April 25, 2025, Solar Orbiter is in the “remote-sensing window (RSW)”, reaching a distance of 0.29 AU (43 million km) from the Sun on March 31. This close proximity to the Sun will allow Solar Orbiter to take high-resolution images of the Sun’s surface and atmosphere, and hopefully to observe a few high-energy solar flares.

Researchers at DIAS will be supporting Solar Orbiter’s campaign using the Irish LOFAR station at Birr Castle Demesne. Coordinated Solar Orbiter and I-LOFAR observations can give a unique insight into solar eruptions and the energetic particles that can be associated with them.

As of today, March 14, there have been a number of small solar flares, which I-LOFAR has observed, but no big ones just yet.

Over the coming weeks, DIAS Research Fellow, Mohamed Nedal, and DIAS/DCU PhD Scholar, Catherine Cuddy, will be keeping a close eye on the radio telescope and solar activity – fingers crossed for a few big flares!

2023 Research Summer Internship Programme with I-LOFAR

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Does spending your Summer conducting research using a world-class radio telescope sound like a dream come true? If so, then the I-LOFAR 2023 Summer internship programme could be for you!

The internship will focus on using the I-LOFAR radio telescope located at Birr Castle Demesne to answer one of humanity’s oldest questions: Is there other life out there?

Breakthrough Listen (BL) is a world-leading, comprehensive program to search for intelligent life in the Universe. Candidates who are successful will get an opportunity to take part in the search for observational technosignature searches using the Breakthrough Listen backend at I-LOFAR. Research activities will take place in person at Birr and / or Dublin, or remotely if agreed beforehand, under the supervision of Prof. Evan Keane (Trinity College Dublin), in collaboration with the team at Berkeley.

The programme will run for approximately 12 weeks from June to August 2023. A stipend of €600 per week will be provided, which is intended to cover all of your expenses during the program including meals and accommodation. Additionally, travel costs to and from the program site will be reimbursed – instructions regarding booking and reimbursement will be provided to accepted students.

To apply, please see additional information and application form here. Applications are open until Friday, February 3rd 2023