Methodology for the observation of radio sources using Ku‐band compact radio telescopes.

Given the rise of satellite television, radio telescopes in the Ku‐band (12–18 GHz) constitute a potential alternative to introduce low‐scale astronomical observatories and amateur astronomers to radio astronomy. In this paper, we show a methodology for the calibration of Ku‐band radio telescopes and the evaluation of the techniques used for the observation of celestial bodies in this frequency range. To reduce the pointing error, we present a method of observation through matrix windows around the Sun. By observing the solar transits, our methodology allows to determine the system temperature, the beamwidth, the gain, the effective area, and the efficiency of the radio telescope. In addition, we developed the Compact Radio Telescope (CRT) software, designed to perform the calibration, and carry out observations. We tested our methodology with the Ku‐band radio telescope of the Observatorio Astronómico of the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira (OAUTP), Colombia. After observing the Sun and the Moon, we obtained a brightness temperature of 8,600 ± 800 K and 240 ± 50 K, and radiation fluxes of 2,970,000 ± 690,000 Jy and 55,000 ± 10,000 Jy, respectively. These observations demonstrated the usefulness of our methodology and CRT software in the calibration of compact Ku‐band radio telescopes for the observation of celestial bodies in radio waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]