What can be learnt from radio astronomy that isn’t revealed in other spectrums of light?
Until about 400 years ago, we were, as human beings, completely blinkered. We didn’t have telescopes. We just had our own eyes and we just had the eyes that have evolved over millions of years of animal evolution on planet Earth. For that reason we can only see a tiny, narrow part of the spectrum. It was only much more recently that we started taking off the blinkers, certainly in the early 20th century. We started to realise there were other types of light that we could gather. And one of those invisible colours is radio waves.
We started to use those radio waves, not just for communication, but to passively receive information from space. Radio waves let you see the invisible. And they also let you find out so many layers of colours that we can’t see. For example, in the middle of our galaxy – the Milky Way – there’s so much dense, dusty gas that is completely black. All of that is hidden from view until we use infrared radiation, or if we use radio waves, and that’s what those different colours can teach us about how hot the gas is, about what it’s made of, what chemicals are up there in space and also the types of physical conditions in the stars.
A lot of the scientific goals of ASKAP are centred around galaxies, whether it’s their evolution, formation or population. What links them?
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Denne historien er fra Issue 104-utgaven av All About Space.
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15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED
