Breakthrough: IIA Bengaluru uses dish TV antenna to study Sun

BENGALURU: It is possible to measure the Sun’s magnetic field using commercial dish TV antennas. In a major breakthrough to study the Sun, the radio astronomy group at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru has proved that low-cost dish antennas that are used for TV networks can be used to observe the Sun and its magnetic field.

“The scientific and technical personnel at IIA, associated with the Gauribidanur radio astronomy field station near Bengaluru, are successfully operating a unique and large world-class radio antenna array for regular observations of the solar corona and magnetic field.