The Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope (WMT) is a planned radio telescope associated with the Environmental Research Station (UFS) Schneefernerhaus at the Zugspitze in the Bavarian Wetterstein mountains.
The WMT is planned to operate at radio frequencies between 1.2GHz and 120GHz with the possibility to extend further towards shorter millimeter wavelengths. It is envisioned as an...
The Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus (UFS) was established in 1999 and is Germany’s highest research station at 2650 meters, just below the summit of Mt. Zugspitze.
Researchers from many different institutes monitor environmentally relevant parameters in the atmosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere and the geosphere. The presentation will give a short...
Jets are about the most striking features of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Driven by the extraction of rotational energy from a black hole and/or the accretion disk, jets can travel up to Mpc scales. Studying jets from both an observational and theoretical point of view is crucial to fully understand the AGN life cycle and the co-evolution of AGN jets and their hosts.
Given the synchrotron...
Relativistic jets launched from accreting supermassive black holes are among the most fascinating objects in Universe. Despite significant observational and theoretical progress the last decade the detailed processes regarding their launching, acceleration and emission remain still unclear. Future mm-VLBI observations will allow us to resolve both the horizon and jet launching zone with...
Imaging in interferometric settings requires that the not measured locations in the Fourier plane are reconstructed. This is particular important in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Information field theory (IFT) allows that this reconstruction is done probabilistically, such that prior information on the sky can be exploited. This includes the positivity of flux, its spatial,...
In collaboration with domestic and international partners, the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is currently designing and prototyping components of a next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) - a cm-mm radio interferometer to replace the Very Large Array and Very Long Baseline Array, producing a powerful astronomical tool for exploring the radio sky over a wide range of spatial...
The Global Millimetre VLBI Array (GMVA) is a highly sensitive, global millimetre VLBI instrument that operates at wavelengths of 3 mm and 7 mm. Significant enhancements have been made in recent years through the incorporation of major facilities, including the phased Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) and the upgraded IRAM NOEMA Observatory. These additions have provided...
I will present Africa Millimetre Telescope (AMT) project. The AMT will be the first millimetre-wave telescope in Africa with the aim to be operational in 2028. The Telescope will join millimeter VLBI observations of the EHT, GMVA, and potentially future long baseline extensions to the ngVLA, offering synergies with the Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope. The AMT will also be able to observe at...
Gravitational lensing provides a powerful probe of the global mass properties of galaxies, which are best tested using observations at extremely high angular resolution. Here, we review the current state-of-the-art, where sophisticated lens modelling algorithms are applied to high resolution imaging from ALMA and global VLBI. The analysis of these data demonstrates the mass complexity within...
To achieve the sensitivity necessary for its key scientific goals, the ngVLA places high demands on its receivers. Traditionally, these requirements have been met with custom solutions based on the combination and interconnection of individual, bulky components. However, we are investigating the possibility of replacing the ngVLA’s Band 6 warm cartridge assembly with a small module based on a...
Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is currently facing severe challenges in obtaining the necessary information for a complete, dynamical understanding of activities in the near-Earth Space environment. These challenges require new capabilities of ground-based space radars at Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) as well as larger distances ranging from MEO/HEO/GEO orbits up to cislunar space. In this...
In the realm of space situational awareness (SSA), detecting and tracking objects in the geostationary, cislunar, and deep-space regimes is becoming increasingly vital. Radar-based observations offer the significant advantage of directly measuring distances and radial velocities. However, the detection and tracking of objects in these regions present challenges due to large distances and...
Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging is an important tool to create high-resolution images of moving objects. It is used by the monostatic Tracking and Imaging Radar (TIRA) to observe satellites for SSA.
In this talk, we will discuss the possibility to extend TIRA's imaging to a network of widely distributed multistatic radio receivers like the WMT that also capture the reflected...
Space Situational Awareness (SSA) monitors Resident Space Objects (RSOs) to safeguard space missions. It involves observing and forecasting RSO behavior, with imaging used to determine characteristics like size, shape, and rotation for cataloging. Interferometric Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) employs multiple receivers to measure phase differences, providing high-resolution 3D...
This contribution provides a short overview of the current and prospective multistatic concept for the TIRA system in the context of Space Situational Awareness (SSA). Initially, an introduction to SSA with TIRA is given, followed by an overview of the system architecture of our current development projects TIRA-Digital and TIRA-HD.
A particular focus is on the role of the WMT as a...
This talk gives a brief overview of the operational procedures for measuring space objects with a radar sensor. With the WMT as an additional receiver, certain requirements arise in order to be able to use the sensor in a meaningful way. Furthermore, requirements for the confidentiality and integrity of the resulting data must be met and a sustainable cost model must be evaluated.
Millimeter wave observations of the solar system were performed since the early 1970s. They cover a wide range of topics including monitoring of the temperature structures of Venus and Mars and their wind patterns, detection of volcanic outgassing of Jupiter’s moon Io, tracing molecules of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 after its impact into the atmosphere of Jupiter and the molecular...
The atmospheric system in the mesosphere–mesopause region is strongly nonlinear. It is characterized by feedback mechanisms between subsystems.There are positive and negative feedbacks, which lead to strengthening or suppression of external impacts, respectively. The positive feedbacks can lead to the destruction or transition of a system to a new state. To gain insight into nonlinear...
The chemistry of mesosphere-mesopause region is, to the large extend, odd-oxygen(O,O3)/odd-hydrogen(H,OH,HO2) chemistry. These species are highly important in the mesosphere-mesopause, governing the chemistry, airglow, and energy budget (taking part in exothermic reactions, radiative heating and microwave cooling). Hence, they are involved in the coupling between dynamics, chemistry and...
I will provide a progress update on a range of mm-related developments in South Africa, including site characterisation for candidate mm-VLBI stations; new interferometric simulation software that includes frequency-phase transfer capability; and MeerKAT-South Pole Telescope survey results. Together, these highlight the rich synergies between deep cm and mm-wave observations of the future over...
The Wetterstein Millimetre Telescope (WMT) is going to address a broad range of scientific topics, operating as a standalone instrument and as part of various interferometric arrays and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) networks. Both these modes of operation would benefit strongly from outfitting the WMT with a multiband, shared-optical-path (SOP) receiver simultaneously covering up to...
Radio astronomy increasingly faces challenges as the radio spectrum becomes ever more congested by skyrocketing commercial demands. We rely on wireless internet access, navigation systems and car parking radars, we need satellite imagery for monitoring climate change, disaster management, or weather forecasting, and much more. All active spectrum users have interference potential to our...
The formation of stars and protoplanetary disks is governed by a complex interplay between gravity, turbulence, and magnetic fields. While gravity drives collapse, turbulence and magnetic fields act as counterforces, shaping the evolution of these structures. High-angular resolution interferometric observations have significantly advanced our understanding of disk properties, yet the role of...
Pre-stellar cores are the preferred location for the formation of Sun-like stars. These dense and cold fragments of molecular clouds represent the initial conditions for the assembly of stellar systems. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the chemical composition of evolved systems is at least partially inherited from the pre-stellar stages. The study of these objects is, therefore,...
Large statistical samples hold an increasingly prominent role in our modern understanding of galaxy evolution -- trends such as the star forming galaxy main sequence and the mass-metallicity relation are established based on samples of many thousands of objects. However, obtaining millimeter spectra -- which are crucial to measuring the properties of cold, star forming gas -- currently...
Recently we ITU registered the BEST-18M-RAS, a possible site to host the first Hungarian radio telescope for cm-mm band observations. We will briefly summarize our site selection and approval work, including also climatological, geophysical, geographical, and sociological research besides radio spectrum monitoring and attenuation modelling. We will show based on the technical parameters and...
Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), using both SKA-Low and SKA-Mid, is poised to deliver groundbreaking observations with milliarcsecond resolution, surpassing the capabilities of the standard SKAO array.
VLBI, in conjunction with the SKAO, holds the promise of unlocking profound insights across various astrophysical topics. VLBI with the SKA stands to revolutionise our understanding...
I will present the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) project. AtLAST is a concept for a 50m diameter single dish telescope to be built on the Chajnantor Plateau, close to the ALMA/APEX site. Its design is under study in EU funded programs, the first lasting from March 2021 to August 2024, the second four year study has just started in January 2025, with a kickoff meeting...
The new generation geodetic very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) system, named VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS), has started to make regular observations of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to measure station positions of globally distributed antennas and Earth Orientation Parameters since 2019. It is currently understood that it is the astrophysics of the AGNs that limits the accuracy of...
The IVS is an international collaboration of worldwide organizations which operate or support Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) components. The IVS bundles geodetic, geophysical, and astrometric research, operational coordination of radio telescopes, promotes research and development activities in all aspects of the geodetic and astrometric VLBI techniques, and interacts with the...
This presentation highlights recent developments at the intersection of geodesy, astrometry, and astronomy.
In the first part, I discuss recent progress in the planning of observation programs for global absolute astrometry and astronomy. Unlike regional networks such as the VLBA, global VLBI networks face significant challenges due to a fragmented commonly visible sky. This is demonstrated...
In the last ten years, the field of protoplanetary disks and planet formation has gone through a complete revolution sparked by ALMA’s transformational observations. These same observations, however, have also revealed various observational challenges caused by the high optical depths of these objects at (sub)mm wavelengths. Observations at (sub)cm wavelengths are key to measure the real...
This talk focuses on the scientific potential of the planned Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope for probing the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks. Central topics include the spatial and temporal variability of disk environments, particularly within the planet-forming zones. The role of magnetic fields, grain growth and settling, and the detection and characterization of embedded...
The growing use of the electromagnetic spectrum by communication services has pushed radio astronomical facilities into increasingly remote areas, such as the U.S. Southwest, Western Australia, or central South Africa. However, with the explosive growth in satellite communications in the past five years, even such remote locations are not spared by interference from these signals. I'll be...
From nearby stars to distant blazars or fast bursts, astronomical breakthroughs across different research domains are multiple times constrained by the angular resolution and sensitivity achievable with current observational facilities.
Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) has transformed our capacity to probe the finest structures in the Universe, achieving milliarcsecond resolution. The...
This presentation will review operational and technical aspects of the European VLBI Network (EVN), with a focus from the perspective of both the EVN users and also the participating telescopes. The EVN remains a cooperative effort among several radio-astronomy institutes in Europe,Asia, and Africa, with agreements in place for co-observing with NRAO (US) and LBA (AU) antennas. The manner in...
The Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope (WMT) is a high-performance ground-based facility designed to support advanced research and technology demonstrations for current and future space missions. With capabilities in high-frequency communication, it serves as key infrastructure for innovative, small-scale missions with global impact.
Three core projects highlight WMT's role:
- TLP...
This talk presents recent advances in satellite communications with a focus on small satellite systems developed at the University of Würzburg. Highlighting the UWE-5 mission, we demonstrate a dual-satellite backhaul link supporting 5G mobile communication networks. We also introduce routing strategies optimized for low latency and energy efficiency in CubeSat constellations, enabling robust...
The Wetterstein Millimeter Telescope (WMT) will enable novel observations in the 25cm to 2.5mm wavelength range from a unique site in on the Zugspitze Bavaria. Starting early 2026, the CCAT/FYST telescope, partially funded by institutions in North Rhine Westfalia and Bavaria, will enable unprecedented wide-field observations in the 1.5mm to 0.2mm wavelength range from the best possible site in...
