Estimation and validation of the radiation pattern of the Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY)

The Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System (MAARSY) is a radar with a large aperture active phased array antenna designed for studies of atmospheric phenomena in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Its design in particular the flexible beam forming and steering capability makes it to a powerful instrument to perform observations with high angular and temporal resolution. The knowledge of the actual radiation pattern and radar parameters is crucial to configure and analyze experiments carried out with the radar. For this purpose the simulated radiation pattern is evaluated by the observation of cosmic radio emissions which are compared to a global sky model. Additionally to these passive receive-only experiments active two-way experiments are presented, which corroborate the findings of the passive experiments.