Examples

Example snippet

Here’s an example code snippet you can try out with Virgo to acquire data using a low-cost RTL-SDR receiver:

import virgo

# Define observation parameters
obs = {
    'dev_args': '',
    'rf_gain': 30,
    'if_gain': 25,
    'bb_gain': 18,
    'frequency': 1420e6,
    'bandwidth': 2.4e6,
    'channels': 2048,
    't_sample': 1,
    'duration': 60
}

# Check source position
virgo.predict(lat=39.8, lon=-74.9, source='Cas A', date='2020-12-26')

# Begin data acquisition
virgo.observe(obs_parameters=obs, obs_file='observation.dat')

# Analyze data, mitigate RFI and export the data as a CSV file
virgo.plot(obs_parameters=obs, n=20, m=35, f_rest=1420.4057517667e6,
           obs_file='observation.dat', rfi=[1419.2e6, 1419.3e6],
           dB=True, spectra_csv='spectrum.csv', plot_file='plot.png')

The above script will plot the position of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A in the celestial sphere of the observer and configure the device by tuning the receiver to the given observing parameters and acquire data.

Once the observation is complete (60 sec in this case), the data will be automatically processed and analyzed, applying a median filter to both the time series and the frequency domain, and masking a channel range, ultimately supressing radio-frequency interference. In this example, dB scaling is used, enabling the plot to support a wide dynamic range.

Lastly, the data is plotted as a PNG file and the discrete spectrum datapoints are exported as a CSV document for further manual analysis (optional).

Example observation

Fig: Observation of galactic clouds of neutral hydrogen toward the constellation of Cygnus (α = 20h, δ = 40° , l = 77° , b = 3°), observed by the TLM-18 Telescope in New Jersey, U.S. with Virgo. The average spectrum (top left), the calibrated spectrum (top center), the dynamic spectrum (top right) and the time series along with the total power distribution (bottom) are all plotted by the software automatically.

Example source prediction

Fig: Example prediction of the position of the Cygnus A radio galaxy (3C 405) in the celestial sphere of the observer obtained via virgo.predict().

Example source prediction

Fig: Sample HI profile (α = 20h30m, δ = 45°) obtained with the package’s virgo.simulate() function.

Offline experiments

For users who wish to experiment with the package’s data acquisition, processing and analysis pipelines, but do not have any supported hardware at hand, an example observation file is included in the repository of the software on GitHub.

This folder includes three files, which can be used to test the software without any access to equipment:

• observation.dat: ON-source observation
• calibration.dat: OFF-source observation (reference calibration)
• joss_example.py: Example script for (spectrum) calibration and data visualization