August 31st was the last day on which we received data from LOFAR1. With the shutdown of LOFAR1 operations, over a decade of gathering and handling huge amounts of data came to an end. LOFAR1 operations have led to the publication of more than 750 scientific papers so far, and this number is still growing by about two papers per week. The end of LOFAR1 production operations does of course not mean the end of LOFAR (which became LOFAR ERIC last year): right now we are working hard on upgrading the LOFAR telescope to version 2.0, both in software and hardware.
Published by the editorial team, 25 September 2024
August 31st was the last day on which we received data from LOFAR1. With the shutdown of LOFAR1 operations, over a decade of gathering and handling huge amounts of data came to an end. LOFAR1 operations have led to the publication of more than 750 scientific papers so far, and this number is still growing by about two papers per week. This places LOFAR in the top 10% of all astronomical facilities.
During its 12-year run, LOFAR has completed 21 cycles by performing over 65,000 hours of successful observations and has distributed more than 60 petabytes (PB) of data (around 3 million movies in 4K resolution).
During its lifetime, ASTRON kept improving LOFAR, not only increasing its size and functionalities, but also its observing efficiency, which exceeded 70% in several semesters.
The end of LOFAR1 production operations does of course not mean the end of LOFAR (which became LOFAR ERIC last year): right now we are working hard on upgrading the LOFAR telescope to version 2.0, both in software and hardware. The upgrade of LOFAR will give us a factor 10 increase in the computing power available at each LOFAR station, access to all LOFAR antenna data all the time, a doubling of the field-of-view for more efficient surveys, synchronized antennas to within nanosecond precision, newer and better filters, ultra-high-resolution imaging, and an overall improvement to LOFAR’s sensitivity and accuracy. Operating such a system will pose new challenges, which we will tackle thanks to the experience we have matured so far.
“I look back at the past 12 years of LOFAR operations with great pride,” says Roberto Pizzo, head of Science Data Centre Operations at ASTRON. “It was an incredible journey, which brought many people in the LOFAR team together. We all shared the goal to tackle the operational challenges of handling the big data of our massive array and turn it into a great discovery machine. We learned a lot, we shared problems, worked long days and celebrated successes. This experience will be a great asset for operating the new system.”
“I am proud to have worked more than 20 years on the design and operational issues of LOFAR”, says Menno Norden, system engineer working in the Technical Operations group of the A&O department. “Especially the challenges we faced to keep the environment clean, from EMI/RFI caused by solar parks, wind turbines, electric fences, led lamps. The contacts with the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) representatives and visits to their stations was always hospitable and special.”
“LOFAR1 was originally designed to perform three 8-hour observations per day”, says Jan David Mol, software architect from the Software Delivery group of the I&S department. “Due to the high sensitivity of the instrument and flexibility of the software that we have built, we were able to tremendously increase the number of observations that are now performed each day. This has allowed scientists to perform more and more diverse research.”
Michiel Brentjens, senior observatory astronomer: “LOFAR was a truly transformational instrument. In the early days, we only had a vague idea where we were headed, while some of our international colleagues were convinced we couldn’t possibly pull it off. Despite many sleepless nights wondering if we’d EVER get it to work, every time someone somewhere found a solution. It was phenomenal to live through this early exploration period full of surprises, technical challenges, chance discoveries, and “firsts”. LOFAR has come a long way since then, and it is sometimes hard to believe that what was once simple farmland, can now discover the longest black-hole-launched jets in the Universe!”
When the upgrade to LOFAR2.0 is completed, it will continue to function at the forefront of radio astronomy.