Radio astronomers study celestial objects in the same way that other astronomers do, but in a unique way. A radio astronomer uses a radio telescope to observe celestial objects that emit radio waves. The majority of astronomers’ observations are limited to the night, but radio astronomers can work during the day. These scientists value visualization, but not in the traditional sense of looking through optical lenses. Radio astronomers, on the other hand, spend a lot of time looking at and interpreting graphs.
Astronomy has a long history of publishing findings from its explorations of the cosmos. Many people are unaware that radio astronomers are behind many of these discoveries. Cosmic background radiation, one of the most important discoveries in radio astronomy, is frequently cited as proof of the so-called “big bang” theory. Because radio waves are unaffected by dust, radio astronomy is used to discover new objects that astronomers couldn’t see but thought were there.
It takes time and patience to come to such conclusions. A radio astronomer’s job starts with a radio telescope, which he or she uses to track radio waves as they travel through space. This type of telescope, which works similarly to a radio receiver, captures radio waves using an antenna. Because radio waves are generally weak, the radio telescope includes a receiver or amplifier to boost the signals. Recorders are connected to the telescope and draw a picture of the radio waves on graph paper with ink or, more commonly, directly into a computer software program.
However, unless the radio astronomer needs to check for interference from artificial devices emitting radio waves, listening isn’t really part of the job. Rather than listening to static, a radio astronomer observes radio waves by monitoring the recorder’s output. A radio astronomer uses computer programs to build an image of the object he or she is observing while monitoring this output. Taking multiple scans of an object and overlaying the graphs to create mosaic images is sometimes required.
A radio astronomer is not limited to nighttime observation because he or she uses radio waves rather than light. Radio waves can pass through the Earth’s atmosphere at any time of day, whereas the light from most celestial objects is too dim to see during the day. The main issue that a radio astronomer faces, regardless of the time of day in which he or she works, is radio waves emitted by human devices. Radio astronomers who are successful learn to filter out static and precisely measure the radio waves emitted by astral objects.