Unveiling the Power of VLBI in Geodesy: A Comprehensive Guide
Are you curious about the intricate world of geodesy and the role of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI)? Look no further! We've crafted a comprehensive website to demystify the significance of VLBI and its impact on the geospatial community.
This resource is a treasure trove for anyone eager to enhance their basic geodetic knowledge or bridge the gap between geodesy and non-geospatial audiences. The website, accessible at https://vlbi.auscope.org.au/, takes you on a journey through the fascinating world of VLBI.
Here's a glimpse of what awaits:
- Understanding VLBI: Dive into the technicalities of how VLBI operates, unraveling its complexity with clarity.
- Scientific and Societal Significance: Explore why VLBI is a cornerstone for scientists, engineers, and society, highlighting its real-world applications.
- Data Production and Processing: Discover the intricate process behind VLBI data generation and the sophisticated methods employed for its analysis.
- Australia's VLBI Network: Uncover the crucial role Australia plays in the global VLBI network, boasting three state-of-the-art VLBI stations.
These stations, located near Hobart, Katherine, and Yarragadee in Western Australia, collectively form the AuScope VLBI Array (https://auscope.phys.utas.edu.au/). In 2025, these telescopes participated in approximately 90% of all international geodetic VLBI experiments, showcasing their exceptional performance.
In fact, when it comes to total observing hours, the Australian telescopes dominate. They secured the top three positions in a global ranking of the top 15 radio telescopes, each accumulating between 3,000 and 4,000 hours of observations annually.
This remarkable achievement not only underscores Australia's expertise but also benefits from the telescopes' strategic placement in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Australian data is meticulously processed using a 'correlator' hosted on the Gadi supercomputer in Canberra, part of the National Computational Infrastructure. An impressive one petabyte of data is dedicated to this processing task.
The website also delves into other essential topics, including the International Celestial Reference Frame, Earth orientation parameters, the International VLBI Service for Geodesy & Astrometry, and the fascinating world of active galactic nuclei, which are at the heart of these observations.
This website is the brainchild of Dr. David Schunck and Dr. Lucia McCallum from the geodetic VLBI research group at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). It was developed as part of an AuScope communication project, in collaboration with Geoscience Australia and UTAS, to make the wonders of VLBI accessible to all.
