The new images are 25 times sharper and have 60 times less noise than images made with a precursor to LOFAR. “That’s special, because the radio emits a lot of energy and we can see all of that at such a great distance. This was the first time we tried to do such a deep and long observation. And the amount of data that was obtained, is huge.”
The antennas were placed as far away from humans as possible, mostly in rural areas. Drenthe lends itself well to this because of the sparsely populated areas, says Van Weeren. “They are very sensitive antennas, for example they are affected by electric fences, appliances, cars or other sources of interference.” Moreover, Drenthe is centrally located, close to Astron in Dwingeloo, the beacon of astronomy in Drenthe.
“And the antennas do not have to be built, but also maintained. It is nice if they are not too far, for example on the Wadden Islands. Logistically it is therefore a good option.”
The astronomers are still full of ambitions to obtain the following observations. For example, the so-called Coma Cluster – another group of thousands of galaxies – is a popular target. “That’s a famous cluster that covers a slightly larger area in the sky and is even more challenging for us.”
Naturally, the ‘Drentse antennas’ must play a decisive role in this. “We use them in everything we do,” concludes Van Weeren.