Solar Observation with MeerKAT: Demonstration of Technical Readiness and Initial Science Highlights

DEVOJYOTI KANSABANIK^1,2*Marcel Gouws³Deepan Patra⁴Angelos Vourlidas²Pieter Kotz'e⁵Divya Oberoi⁴Shaheda Begum Shaik^6,7Sarah Buchner³Fernando Camilo³

• ¹University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, United States
• ²Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, United States
• ³South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
• ⁴Tata Institute of Fundamental Research National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Pune, India
• ⁵National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, United States
• ⁶George Mason University, Fairfax, United States
• ⁷US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, United States

Solar radio emissions offer unique diagnostic insights into the solar corona. However, their dynamic and multiscale nature, along with several orders of magnitude variations in intensity, pose significant observational challenges. To date, at gigahertz frequencies, MeerKAT stands out globally with high potential of producing high-fidelity, spectroscopic snapshot images of the Sun, enabled by its dense core, high sensitivity, and broad frequency coverage. Yet, as a telescope originally designed for observing faint galactic and extragalactic sources, observing the Sun at the boresight of the telescope requires customized observing strategies and calibration methods. This work demonstrates the technical readiness of MeerKAT for solar observations at the boresight of the telescope in the UHF (580–1015 MHz) and L-band (900–1670 MHz) frequency ranges, including optimized modes, a dedicated calibration scheme, and a tailored, entirely automated calibration and imaging pipeline. The quality of solar images is validated through morphological comparisons with the solar images at other wavelengths. Several unique early science results showcase the potential of this new capability of MeerKAT. Once fully commissioned and operational, this will unlock novel solar studies, significantly expand the scientific portfolio of MeerKAT, and lay the groundwork for solar observations with the mid-frequency telescope of the upcoming Square Kilometre Array Observatory, for which MeerKAT serves as a precursor.