Introduction to Radio Astronomy - And Its Effects on Our Daily Lives - Livestream

Radio astronomy began in 1931 when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories discovered mysterious static from the Milky Way. While professional astronomers ignored Jansky’s discovery, Grote Reber built the first parabolic metal dish antenna and was the first to map the radio sky. Eventually, astronomers paid attention, and the field of radio astronomy exploded in 1960s, but amateurs have remained active observing the sky. Unlike optical astronomy, radio astronomy can be conducted at any time, even during daylight. Radio astronomy has made multiple discoveries and led to several Nobel prizes. Thanks to radio astronomy, we can “see” and map black holes. Radio astronomers can map the location and distribution of atomic gases, simple compounds (water, ammonia, etc.) and complex organic compounds (methanol, formaldehyde, ethanol, etc.).

Speakers: Ed Harfmann and Pablo Lewin, Societyof Amateur Radio Astronomers

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