Constraining solar emission radius at 42 MHz during the 2024 total solar eclipse using a student-commissioned radio telescope

TL;DR

This study describes the deployment of a student-built low-frequency radio telescope array, DLITE, during the 2024 total solar eclipse to constrain the solar emission radius at 42 MHz, demonstrating rapid deployment and observational capabilities.

Contribution

The paper introduces DLITE, a novel low-frequency radio array, and presents its successful use in eclipse observations to probe the solar corona at 42 MHz.

Findings

DLITE can be quickly deployed for solar observations.

Constraints on the solar emission radius at 42 MHz were obtained.

The project demonstrates the feasibility of student-led radio astronomy experiments.

Abstract

Low-frequency solar radio emission is sourced in the solar corona, with sub-100 MHz radio emission largely originating from the $\sim$10$^{5}$\,$\mathrm{K}$ plasma around 2 optical radii. However, the region of emission has yet to be constrained at 35--45\,MHz due to both instrumentation limitations and the rarity of astronomical events, such as total solar eclipses, which allow for direct observational approaches. In this work, we present the results from a student-led project to commission a low-frequency radio telescope array situated in the path of totality of the 2024 total solar eclipse in an effort to probe the middle corona. The Deployable Low-Band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (DLITE) is a low-frequency radio array comprised of four dipole antennas, optimized to observe at 35--45\,MHz, and capable of resolving the brightest radio sources in the sky. We constructed a DLITE station in Observatory Park, a dark sky park in Montville, Ohio. Results of observations during the total solar eclipse demonstrate that DLITE stations can be quickly deployed for observations and provide constraints on the radius of solar emission at our center observing frequency of 42\,MHz. In this work, we outline the construction of DLITE Ohio and the solar observation results from the total solar eclipse that transversed North America in April 2024.