But what is the instrument that can collect a radio wave passing by? It is either captured with eyeballs in that you’re just kind of looking through the telescope or it is captured with a CCD camera or with film that we can then look at with our eyeballs. You can basically use chicken mesh almost.įraser: What is the method for capturing radio waves? I think we all understand how visible works, you use a mirror or some kind of lens that focuses the light which is what we would see with our eyeballs. When you start trying to focus radio light you can get sloppy. If I’m looking at nanometer size light I really can’t have any holes at all. What that means is if I’m looking at 20 centimeter light, the dish that I’m using to reflect that light can have one centimeter holes in it and the light is not going to care. One of the unfortunate qualities about light is the surface that you’re using has to be polished to within about one part in 20 of that wavelength. You have to have an extremely perfect reflecting surface. With optical light you can use chemical processes. You have to use completely different technology as you get to completely different wavelengths of light. You’re looking at light that is anywhere from a couple of centimeters long to 20 centimeters long to roughly a meter. Pamela: When we start talking about radio, we’re talking about stuff that you can actually measure with a meter stick. But that’s pretty much where animals are looking at light.įraser: Right so peak to peak it is 500 nanometers with a nanometer being a…įraser: That is a teeny weenie tiny wavelength. It depends on if you are a snake or a human. The stuff that we look at with our eyes is 800ish nanometers, 500ish nanometers. Pamela: The radio spectrum is the really long wavelengths of light. We did a whole episode on the whole electromagnetic spectrum so where are we today? Today we’re going to celebrate the other end of the spectrum, the radio end where photons really stretch out their wavelengths. We see invisible light but that is just a tiny portion of the spectrum. When it comes to light they use the whole spectrum from radio to gamma rays. If you want to learn a subject, teach it and explain it and you’ll find that you really get to know it quite well inside and out.Īstronomers are very resourceful. Then ten years later, I’ve got to say that it worked. I figured I would try and report the news sort of in my spare time and by doing so I would learn about the actual concepts involved. My big plan with Universe Today was to learn about space and astronomy because I was always so fascinated with it. I know people like it when we keep the chit chat down to a minimum but I just have to tell a story. Happy ten years and I’ll try and put a link on Universe Today so people can go back and see the first stuff I ever wrote ten years ago. Pamela: But for two and a half years missing one episode, I think we’re doing pretty good.įraser: We have a little bit of an announcement which is that today is the ten year anniversary of Universe Today.įraser: I started Universe Today on March 23, 1999.įraser: I know. We’re now caught up and then we can just reset the clock for Monday’s episode and we’ll have the questions show and it should be fine from here on out. I’m actually down at the Houston Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference.įraser: You may notice that this is the episode for March 23 rd there was no episode last week because we kind of gave up trying to catch up. Pamela Gay: You know me, I’m never at home. Episode 23: Counting Aliens with the Drake Equationįraser Cain: Pamela where are you traveling now?ĭr.Transit Method of detecting extrasolar planets - Kepler Mission page.Wow! Signal– Internet Encyclopedia of Science.What is submillimeter astronomy? - University of Arizona.Radio astronomy image gallery from NRAO.Magnetic Fields Shape the Jets Coming From Supermassive Black Holes- Universe Today.
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