Download 16.5 NOTES What is a radio telescope? Objective: Explain how a

16.5 NOTES
What is a radio telescope?
Objective: Explain how a radio telescope works
The reason why we do not see
stars during the day is because the
Sun is the closest star to the Earth
and outshines the rest of them.
On rainy nights, clouds hide the
light from the stars, making it
impossible to even see them with
a refracting or reflecting telescope.
Stars send out visible
light as well as all
forms of
electromagnetic
radiation. A radio
telescope can receive
radio waves from
space. It can also
find stars during the
day or when there
are clouds.
In 1932, an American engineer named Karl Jansky, heard the first radio signals
from space. These waves were coming from our galaxy, the Milky Way. Grote
Reber built a radio telescope with an antenna. He was able to make the first radio
map of the Milky Way. The antenna collects and focuses radio waves given off by
stars and other objects in space. These waves are then transmitted to a receiver.
There are three advantages of using radio telescopes
1. They can detect some objects that refracting and reflecting telescopes
cannot see.
2. They can be used in any kind of weather, even traveling through clouds.
3. They can be used during the day when stars other than the Sun are not
visible.