Star Noise: Discovering the Radio Universe

Describes how radio astronomers made a series of remarkable serendipitous discoveries that changed our understanding of the Universe.

Kenneth I. Kellermann (Author), Ellen N. Bouton (Author)

9781316519356, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 May 2023

400 pages
25.1 x 17.8 x 2.7 cm, 0.88 kg

'This book presents a history of radio astronomy from the unique perspective of authors close to important developments in the field. It not only describes the historical developments but provides a wealth of entertaining stories. Kellermann was on the scene or one degree removed from the events described as a PhD student of John Bolton, a leading pioneers in radio astronomy after World War II. These stories, which are related in colorful detail and accompanied by copious photographs, are told with such a flourish that makes the book hard to put down. The conclusions provide an object lesson about the nature of scientific discovery and how science really works. Scientists, students, and people who influence which instruments are built and who gets to use them will enjoy and benefit from reading this book.' James M. Moran, D. H. Menzel Professor of Astrophysics Emeritus, Harvard University and Senior Scientist, SAO

Until Karl Jansky's 1933 discovery of radio noise from the Milky Way, astronomy was limited to observation by visible light. Radio astronomy opened a new window on the Universe, leading to the discovery of quasars, pulsars, the cosmic microwave background, electrical storms on Jupiter, the first extrasolar planets, and many other unexpected and unanticipated phenomena. Theory generally played little or no role – or even pointed in the wrong direction. Some discoveries came as a result of military or industrial activities, some from academic research intended for other purposes, some from simply looking with a new technique. Often it was the right person, in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing – or sometimes the wrong thing. Star Noise tells the story of these discoveries, the men and women who made them, the circumstances which enabled them, and the surprising ways in which real-life scientific research works.

Foreword
Preface
Introduction
1. A new window on the universe
2. Radio emission from the sun and stars
3. Radio galaxies
4. Quasars and AGN
5. Radio astronomy, cosmology, and cosmic evolution
6. The Cosmic Microwave Background
7. Interplanetary scintillations, pulsars, neutron stars, and fast radio bursts
8. Interstellar atoms, molecules, and cosmic masers
9. Radio studies of the moon and planets
10. Testing gravity
11. If you build it, they will come
12. Expecting the unexpected
End notes
Glossary: Abbreviations and acronyms
Bibliography and suggested reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Astronomical observation: observatories, equipment & methods [PGG], History of science [PDX], Impact of science & technology on society [PDR]