Unwin Radar, Atmospheric research radar station in Awarua, New Zealand

Unwin Radar is a monostatic pulsed radar at Awarua, near Invercargill, New Zealand, operated by La Trobe University as part of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network. Its transmitting array of 16 log-periodic antennas forms a beam about 4 degrees wide at 12 MHz, swept across the southern sky in 16 steps; four antennas set behind the array act as an interferometer measuring echo elevation angles.

The station was established as part of an international radar network to monitor space weather effects in the Southern Hemisphere. Since then it has become a key point in a global system operated by multiple countries.

The radar is named after R. S. Unwin, a pioneer of auroral radar research who proposed the concept in the 1960s. With its counterpart at Bruny Island, Tasmania, it forms TIGER, the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar, and data is sent to La Trobe University and shared online.

The station is located in a remote area of New Zealand with limited public access to the facility. Visitors should inquire ahead about whether tours are possible and what safety guidelines apply.

The station is one of the southernmost radar systems of its kind and provides rare measurements of the polar region. This position makes it especially valuable for understanding space weather phenomena at high southern latitudes.