Do it yourself - VLBI simulation
VLBI can be quite difficult to understand. The gentle introduction covers the basics but does not
interactively show the influence of the actual locations and distances between
the telescopes, the duration of the observation and the result it has on the image.
Software engineers at JIVE have adapted and extended an existing java-based package
into a java webstart application: the Virtual Radio
Interferometer.
The application allows you to move the telescopes around, increase or decrease the length of the observation and will immediately show the effect on the resulting image.
It should be noted that a number of simplifications have been made - the application focusses on illustrativeness rather than a complete scientifically valid simulation.
Besides a fully functional Java-based version a much simpler in-browser aperture coverage "application" was developed. It allows moving telescopes and adjusting the observation duration and shows the effect.
Note: the orginal version of the VRI was a Java Applet, developed by scientists working at Jodrell Bank Observatory, England.
Note: Java-applets no longer run on today's Java platforms. This information is solely provided as an acknowledgement to the original authors. The original sourcecode is findable, but requires severe re-engineering before being anything more than a collection of errormessages, which is the reason for leaving out the direct link to said sourcecode.