A new heliograph of the UTR-2 radio telescope: Design and performance

A new instrument dedicated to observations of the outer corona of the Sun has been put in operation since 2010. It is based on the antenna system of UTR-2 (Ukrainian T-shaped radio telescope, Mark 2) at the Braude´s observatory of the Institute of Radio Astronomy. This radioheliograph is capable of producing two-dimensional brightness distribution pictures of the solar corona in the frequency range 8-33 MHz (height range of ≈ 0.7-2.3 solar radii above photosphere). It can be launched in different regimes (serial, parallel-serial and synthesis imaging principles). At present this is the only instrument of its kind in the world in the above-mentioned frequency range for regular observations of the Sun. Included in this report is a description of the instrument construction and its some features.