Ventspils University of Applied Sciences Engineering Research Institute for several years has been successfully continuing astrochemistry research which has been highly valued in the international scientific community. On 10 July 2018, astrochemistry research at the Institute's Astronomy and Astrophysics department  under the guidance of the leading researcher Ivars Šmelds received another high evaluation.

Latvian Council of Science, attracting foreign experts, approved funding for the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences fundamental and applied research project application "Research of Galactic Masers" (hereafter Project). In modern astrophysics, cosmic masers are considered an indicator of the processes that take place in star-forming regions but the study of the radiation they produce can provide a lot of information about these processes themselves. One of the tasks of the Project is to search for yet undiscovered sources of the cosmic maser generated by the cosmic hydroxyl molecule. By studying the radiation of new and also previously discovered masers, it will be possible to obtain important information about the processes in which new stars are born, as well as planetary systems.

The second task is to improve the quality of radio astronomical observations made with VUAS VIRAC radio telescopes, thus providing a reliable basis for future observation of weak space objects. New data processing software and technical solutions using directional diagrams and frequency modulation will be developed to improve the sensitivity of the telescope and to enable it to record weak signals from maser radio sources and to process the large data streams they produce. The results of the project, which are aimed at elucidating the nature of the interstellar environment, will directly affect the priority branch of Latvian science – physics and astronomy. In turn, the software and technical solutions developed during the project implementation will be able to be used wherever there will be poor signal reception and processing of large amounts of data produced by the radio telescope, thus strengthening Latvia’s priority scientific direction "Technologies, Materials and Engineering Systems for Value-Added Products and Processes and Cyber Security".     

 

The project is planned to be implemented over a period of 3 years and its total funding is EUR 299973. 9 researchers will participate in the project, including two visiting scientists from the Kharkiv Institute of Radio Astronomy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.