BINGO-Uirapuru
Uirapuru is a radio telescope built based on the prototype horn antenna of the BINGO Radio Telescope. BINGO-Uirapuru is located at UFCG, Campus of Campina Grande, next to LabMet (Metrology Laboratory) of the Department of Electrical Engineering (7°12’41.9″S 35°54’29.5″W, see the map below). Currently, BINGO-Uirapuru has a north-south alignment and can be manually moved in elevation (relative to the ground).
Main objective
The main objective of the Uirapuru radio telescope is to serve as a testbed for the development of remote sensors and software that will be used in the BINGO Radio Telescope. The BINGO horn was optimized to operate between 960 MHz and 1280 MHz. Furthermore, Uirapuru is important in the adjustment process for optimizing the receiver under development for BINGO and testing the digital backend.
Other objectives
- Testing the electromagnetic response of the BINGO horn in open spaces;
- Training the BINGO team and students;
- Improving this horn by coupling reflectors that enhance its sensitivity. This will contribute to the monitoring of brighter pulsars, albeit intermittently;
- Also, the Uirapuru Radio Telescope will be part of a network of outriggers, together with the BINGO radio telescope and other smaller radio telescopes, for the search and localization of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).
Inspiration for the name
The uirapuru is a bird that inhabits the Amazon rainforest, very famous for its melodious song, where it is also known as the “horn bird”. Uirapuru is a word from the Tupi-Guarani language family formed by the words uira (bird) and puru (small, slender).
Tupi-Guarani is a linguistic family that unites almost the entire South American continent, also spoken by the native people of Paraíba and neighboring states.
This species of bird is not native to Paraíba. The beautiful song of the uirapuru has inspired artists from Brazil and the world. The choice of name for the radio telescope is a tribute to our biome and traditional communities.
Learn more
For more information on the manufacturing and figures of merit of this horn:
See the BINGO-Uirapuru
