# Space Weather and Solar Wind Studies with OWFA

## TL;DR

This paper reviews interplanetary scintillation observations with the legacy Ooty Radio Telescope and discusses how the upgraded OWFA enhances space weather monitoring and solar wind studies through increased sensitivity and wider field of view.

## Contribution

It introduces the capabilities of the upgraded OWFA for improved heliospheric science and space weather event monitoring compared to the legacy system.

## Key findings

- Legacy system enabled regular IPS monitoring and understanding of space weather.
- OWFA's wide bandwidth and large field of view allow monitoring over 5000 sources daily.
- OWFA's capabilities will significantly improve studies of solar wind and coronal plasma turbulence.

## Abstract

In this paper, we review the results of interplanetary scintillation (IPS) observations made with the legacy system of the Ooty Radio Telescope (ORT) and compare them with the possibilities opened by the upgraded ORT, the Ooty Wide Field Array (OWFA). The stability and the sensitivity of the legacy system of ORT allowed the regular monitoring of IPS on a grid of large number of radio sources and the results of these studies have been useful to understand the physical processes in the heliosphere and space weather events, such as coronal mass ejections, interaction regions and their propagation effects. In the case of OWFA, its wide bandwidth of 38 MHz, the large field of view of $\sim$27$^\circ$ and increased sensitivity provide a unique capability for the heliospheric science at 326.5 MHz. IPS observations with the OWFA would allow one to monitor more than 5000 sources per day. This, in turn, will lead to much improved studies of space weather events and solar wind plasma, overcoming the limitations faced with the legacy system. We also highlight some of the specific aspects of the OWFA, potentially relevant for the studies of coronal plasma and its turbulence characteristics.