Speaker
Dr
Merja Tornikoski
(Aalto University Metsahovi Radio Observatory)
Description
I will present the ongoing blazar monitoring programme and other AGN observing
projects of Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory (MRO) in Finland.
MRO has been operational for more than 40 years now, and even though we
struggle with decreasing funding for basic research just like many other
research units nowadays do, our streamlined operations and flexibility allow
for a multitude of different kinds of observing projects.
The backbone of our observing programme is the dense, long term monitoring
of approximately one hundred blazars at 37 GHz (and somewhat less at 22 GHz).
But in addition to that, we carry out also many other AGN observing
projects, trying to optimally use the observing time between the core monitoring
sample, some "high-risk" projects involving faint sources or large samples,
as well as Target-of-Opportunity projects that call for a quick response.
In recent years, the focus of our research has been in multifrequency
studies related to the Planck satellite's extragalactic foreground source
programme, and radio to gamma-ray connection in blazars. Currently we are
also observing samples of younger radio sources, such as Gigahertz Peaked
Spectrum sources and Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies.
I will describe our observing programmes and the science goals which
ultimately aim for a better understading of blazar unification and evolution.
Primary author
Dr
Merja Tornikoski
(Aalto University Metsahovi Radio Observatory)
