Getting Started in Radio Astronomy: Beginner Projects for the Amateur

212 Pages·2014·3.9 MB·English

by  Steven Arnold (auth.)

Steven Arnold
Getting
Started in
Radio
Astronomy
Beginner Projects
for the Amateur
The Patrick Moore
The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series
For further volumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/3192

Getting
Started in
Radio
Astronomy
Beginner Projects for the Amateur
Steven Arnold
Steven Arnold
Mans fi eld , UK
ISSN 1431-9756
ISBN 978-1-4614-8156-0 ISBN 978-1-4614-8157-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-8157-7
Springer New York Heidelberg Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013946929
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014
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Dedication
For Marjorie,
I can’t imagine life without you or Sweep.
With special thanks to;
Shlomo, Lorraine and Josh,
for their patience and proof reading
skills and to Linda T for your encouragement.
Also to the memory of three truly inspirational
people that sadly died last year (2012).
Sir Bernard Lovell; Radio astronomer at Jodrell Bank.
Neil Armstrong; First man on the Moon.
Sir Patrick Moore; Astronomer and true gentleman.

About the Author
Steven Arnold is a certifi e d mechanical engineer and long-time amateur radio
astronomer. He is a member of the Society for Popular Astronomy and has recently
contributed radio astronomy articles about the NASA Radio Jove receiver kit and
also wrote about the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). He
wrote and recorded a podcast about the NASA Radio Jove project, which can be
heard on w ww.365daysofastronomy.org . Steve is a member of a number of astro-
nomical groups and organizations. He has his own small permanent observatory and
specializes in solar system deep-sky imaging, spectroscopy, and radio astronomy.
vii

Contents
1 The History of Radio Astronomy ............................................................ 1
1.1 The Early Years ................................................................................ 1
1.2 Wartime Developments .................................................................... 7
1.3 Increasing Resolution ....................................................................... 11
1.4 Planetary Signals .............................................................................. 16
1.5 Sputnik ............................................................................................. 17
1.6 The Search for Intelligent Life ......................................................... 19
1.7 The Apollo Mission ......................................................................... 20
1.8 Interferometry and Quasars .............................................................. 21
1.9 Observation of Mercury ................................................................... 23
1.10 The ‘Big Bang’ Theory and CMB ................................................... 24
1.11 Neutron Stars and Pulsars ................................................................ 26
1.12 Arecibo Transmission and ‘Wow!’ Signal ....................................... 28
2 The Basic Physics of Electricity and Magnetism ................................... 33
2.1 Building Blocks ............................................................................... 33
2.2 Magnetism and Wave Properties ...................................................... 35
2.3 The Electromagnetic Spectrum ........................................................ 39
2.4 Radio Frequencies and Characteristics ............................................ 42
3 Atmosphere, Magnetic Fields and Magnetospheres .............................. 49
3.1 The Goldilocks Zone ........................................................................ 49
3.2 The Ionosphere ................................................................................. 51
3.3 Scintillation ...................................................................................... 54
3.4 Planetary Magnetic Fields and Magnetospheres .............................. 55
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