Trips to Penticton, BC to work at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory

In radio astronomy, a complete image is made by capturing both the fine detail and global structure of an object. Using telescopes of varying size and design, astronomers observe different ‘spatial frequencies’ which describe how structure varies periodically across space. My Master’s research involves imaging data from telescope arrays, which show the high spatial frequencies corresponding to the fine detail in an object. To demonstrate this concept, I edit images of everyday objects; here, a flower. I remove the low spatial frequencies, which typically reveal the large-scale features. The high spatial frequencies kept reveal the small-scale features, such as edges and sharp lines, in the original image. I have also used false colour to create this image. Since there is no colour associated with radio observations, astronomers assign an appropriate colour scale that will display observations in detail. This technique helps create the stunning images typically associated with astronomy.

Trips to Toulouse, France, to work at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie.