Radio Astronomy

We have only just begun to physically explore our own solar system through the deployment of robotic spacecrafts, some of which have successfully landed on planets, comets, and moons. However, our understanding of the universe beyond our solar system mostly relies on the observation of light, both visible and invisible.

Optical astronomy, with its origins in ancient civilizations, experienced a significant breakthrough with the invention of telescopes in the 17th century, marking the beginning of modern optical astronomy. Early astronomers like Galileo Galilei made groundbreaking discoveries such as identifying Jupiter’s moons and observing the phases of Venus.

The field of radio astronomy is relatively recent, tracing its origins back to 1931 when Karl Jansky made a groundbreaking discovery. Using his antenna array, Jansky detected faint radiation at a frequency of 20.5 MHz, a subtle hiss, that repeated on a cycle of 23 hours and 56 minutes, matching the sidereal day. Jansky concluded that this radiation originated from the Milky Way, marking the inception of radio astronomy.

Today, advancements in radio astronomy allow us to observe the universe in unprecedented ways, from studying the young universe through the cosmic microwave background to capturing the first images of a black hole’s horizon using Earth-sized interferometric radio telescopes.

CfRA

Our team at the Center for Radio Astronomy (CfRA) focuses on the development, construction, and operation of radio astronomy instruments designed to observe the universe across radio and microwave wavelengths.