Two students from Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, Shamz Azhar & Mohammed Shahnawaz, from BSc (MPCS 4 Semester) have been selected to visit Gauribidanur Radio Telescope near Bengaluru from 28 May to 1 June 2016 to familiarize and work with the SWAN system. Prof Avinash Deshpande, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru has proposed the design, development and use of a wideband Sky Watch Array Network (SWAN) across India with the following objectives:
a) To facilitate and conduct searches and studies of transient radio radiation originating from astronomical sources.
b) To facilitate and conduct high angular resolution imaging of discrete galactic and extragalactic sources at low radio frequencies.
c) To train, involve and provide hands-on experience to a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students in all aspects of the SWAN, through their direct and active participation starting from the design stage to research using the array network. Other students involved in this program are from IISER-Mohali, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, IIT-Indore,IIT-Kharagpur and BITS-Pilani.
This program has been organised in collaboration with Dr Priya Hasan, Dept of Physics, MANUU and Prof Avinash Deshpande (Raman Research Institute). Prof Avinash Deshpande had visited MANUU in March 2016 to deliver a lecture on the SWAN and Radio Astronomy. MANUU will be participating in the SWAN program under the University Innovation Club which will be a very good educational tool for students.