The Automated Small Telescope for Radio Astronomy (ASTRA) is a low cost platform for astronomy education.
- 70 cm diameter Discovery Dish radio antenna
- Hydrogen Line (1420 MHz) feed and software radio
- 60mm optical F/4.5 wide field of view optical telescope
- 8 Mega Pixel CCD (uncooled) for optical imaging
- Goto Telescope Mount
- Integrated Navigation (GPS), Inertial Measurement (IMU), and Orientation (Magnetometer)
- Battery Operation (12hr+)
- Rolling Base / Cart
ASTRA integrates a small radio telescope, an optical wide-field imaging system, a position and orientation sensor, and a GoTo mount.
An onboard computer enables automation and control of the system. Combined with a browser based interface to student laptops, the
platform can be used for collection and visualization of radio and optical astronomy data. This enables active learning for science
and radio education through real world measurement.
The system is relatively inexpensive and suitable for use by a science program or astronomy club. ASTRA can be used as an adjunct for lesson plans related to the electromagnetic spectrum, chemistry and physics, and radio and optical astronomy. More advanced 'mini projects' are also possible for small groups of enthusiastic students who are willing to put in more work observing.
It is possible to build an ASTRA unit from scratch. We have used entirely off the shelf components for the system. Most of them available from online vendors. We expect it will take about 100 hours to replicate the system given a reasonable level experience with electronics, 3D printing, and hardware integration and testing. Student groups should have an experienced mentor. It is really not an individual project unless a significant amount of time is available.
Changes to the system are possible but can produce integration problems. In particular we have found some computers to be very unstable, cameras that generate self interference, and a host of low level software compatibility challenges. We do not expect to directly support a wide range of software drivers for the system. So integrating custom software (e.g. different radios) can take significant development experience. The build instructions include some potential directions for modifying the design.
ASTRA can be used to make radio and optical observations. This includes radio measurement of the hydrogen line, galactic structure and rotation. Optical imaging of the Sun, Moon, star clusters, and major Nebulae also enables a direct comparison of radio signatures with wide field of view imaging.
ASTRA can be constructed by a small group using off the shelf components, 3D printed brackets and enclosures, and open source software.
Although many alternative components exist, the overall selections for ASTRA are a good balance of cost, performance, and integration complexity.
Our lessons are currently under development and will be released after we complete testing them. Some of the introductory lessons are online as we develop and refine them.
- What is ASTRA?
- ASTRA Setup and Transport
- Observing Stars with ASTRA
- Observing the Sun with ASTRA
- Hydrogen Line Detection with ASTRA
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum
- The Hydrogen Line at 1420 MHz
- Radio Waves and Propagation
- Astrochemistry
- Outer Space is Not Empty
- Radio and Optical Imaging of the Sun
- Radio and Optical Imaging of the Moon
- Galactic Rotation Curve
- Detection of Jupiter
- Imaging Andromeda
- The Crab Nebula
- Star Cluster Survey
- Imaging Sagitarius A*
BSD 3-clause "New" or "Revised" license, see the associated license file.
ASTRA leverages both the Discovery Dish, PlutoSDR, DigitalRF, Python, NiceGUI, Marimo and a large range of open source libraries to implement the needed control, user interface, data processing, and hardware systems. These tools are generally installed directly from online repositories by using operating system level installation, Radioconda, or the Poetry project dependency tool.
The Claude Sonnet 4.6 model was used along with Nice Vibes to help with user interface coding. The resulting interface was heavily modified by manual coding to adapt and improve layout, function, and backend integration.