Radio Astronomy module Contact
[email protected] Notes: NRAO Essential radio astronomy course: http://www.cv.nrao.edu/course/astr534/ERA.shtml See also http://www.haystack.mit.edu/ edu/undergrad/materials/RA_tutorial.html Radio Astronomy: Past and Future Outline The discovery of radio emission from the sky Early instruments SKA South Africa's role in the SKA meerKAT − XDM − KAT-7 Prehistory of RA Oliver Lodge and Nikolai Tesla atttempted to detect signals from the Sun − Too much interference − Too little sensitivity The 1920's -1930's Bell Telephone initiates a “shortwave” transatlantic service Communications are disrupted by static Karl Jansky tasked to determine its orgin: − Mostly tropical thunderstorms − Steady “hiss” that rose and fell daily with a period of 23:56 − Direction of Galactic centre strongest source Proposal for another antenna and further study rejected and he was reassigned Karl Jansky Jansky's 'merry-go-round' 20.5 MHz 100 ft diameter Rotated manually on a set of 4 Ford Model-T tires Grote Reber (1930's) Learned about Jansky's discovery and wanted to follow up Couldn't get a job at Bell labs or observatories because of the Great Depression So he decided to study on his own Grote Reber Built telescope at his own expense in his backyard 31.4 ft diameter (~9m) Grote Reber Worked at night because of interference from car engines 3300 MHz, failed to detect anything 900 MHz, failed 160 MHz, successful in 1938 Grote Reber's recordings 1943 First radio map of the galaxy Grote Reber (9m) WWII Radar Delevopment