Explore the fascinating history and science of radio astronomy through the links below!
On April 15th, 2024 I gave a talk titled “Tuning into the Invisible Universe” at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA as a part of the Carnegie Science Astronomy Lecture Series. View the recording here.
Books
The Evolution of Radio Astronomy by J.S. Hey: The Evolution of Radio Astronomy (physical copy)
Essential Radio Astronomy (textbook at the level of a upper-level physics undergraduate): Essential Radio Astronomy (physical copy), Essential Radio Astronomy (web)
History and News
Early Radio Astronomy at Wheaton, Illinois by Grote Reber: ASP Conference Series, Vol. 345, 2005
Linking our Lineage: From Radio Operator to Radio Receiver: NRAO blog post
Grote Reber, Radio Astronomer: NIST blog post
Grote Reber (1911-2022): Nature News
What we’ve learned in 60 years of studying quasars: astronomy.com article
Oral Histories interview with Maarten Schmidt—the first to determine the distance to a quasar: AIP Oral Histories Interview
Remembering Maarten Schmidt, 1929–2022: Caltech News
Discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background: American Physical Society’s “This Month in Physics History” article
1978 Nobel Prize in Physics Press Release: to Arno Allan Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson “for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation”
Solving the mystery of perytons: It’s the microwave: how astronomers discovered source of mysterious radio signals, Nature News
Images
Radar Image of Moon’s Tycho Crater: Image Release: Moon’s Tycho Crater.
5 GHz Image of the Sun: The Radio Sun