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Definition: radio telescope from The Penguin Dictionary of Science

An instrument designed to detect and observe radio sources. Since radio frequencies correspond to large wavelengths, large reflectors in the form of ➤paraboloids are used as aerials to achieve good ➤resolution. Alternatively, an array of aerials can be used (a radio interferometer), joined to the same receiver in such a way that the phase of the signal is preserved, and the image can then be reconstructed.

radio telescope

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Instrument for detecting radio waves from the universe in radio astronomy . Radio telescopes usually consist of a metal bowl that collects and focuses radio waves the way a concave mirror collects and focuses light waves. Radio telescopes are much larger than optical telescopes, because the wavelengths they are detecting are much longer than the wavelength of light. The largest single dish is at Arecibo Observatory , Puerto Rico. A large dish such as that at Jodrell Bank , Cheshire, England, can see the radio sky less clearly than a small optical telescope sees the visible sky. Interferometry is a technique in which the output from two dishes is combined to give better resolution of detail than with a single dish. Very long baseline interferometry (VBLI) uses radio telescopes spread across the world to resolve minute details of radio sources. The deep-space network (DSN) works in this way to track artificial satellites . In aperture synthesis , several dishes are linked together to…
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Full text Article radio telescope

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
radio telescope Just like an optical reflector, a...
Instrument used to collect and measure ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION emitted by astronomical bodies in the radio region of the spectrum. The radio region extends from around 10 mm to around 10-20 m. The short-wavelength region from 10 mm to 350 μm is now defined as the MILLIMETER-WAVE ASTRONOMY and…
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Full text Article radio telescope

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Lovell Telescope, a fully steerable radio...
Combination of radio receiver and antenna , used for observation in radio and radar astronomy . Radio telescopes vary widely, but all have two basic components: a large radio antenna or an antenna array and a radiometer or radio receiver. Because some astronomical radio sources are extremely weak, …
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Full text Article radio telescope

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Instrument for detecting radio waves from the universe in radio astronomy . Radio telescopes usually consist of a metal bowl that collects and focuses radio waves the way a concave mirror collects and focuses light waves. Radio telescopes are much larger than optical telescopes, because the…
| 354 words
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Full text Article radio telescope

From The Penguin Dictionary of Physics
A type of telescope used in RADIO ASTRONOMY to record and measure the radio-frequency emissions from celestial radio sources. All radio telescopes consist of an AERIAL or system of aerials, connected by FEEDERS to one or more RECEIVERS . The aerials may be in the form of large metal DISHES or simple…
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A transit radio telescope of a completely new configuration was designed by John Kraus at Ohio State–Ohio Wesleyan Radio Observatory in the 1950s. It consisted of a tiltable flat reflector of wires stretched on a 80 m long by 30 m high metal frame, which reflected radio waves from the source on to a…
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The 1,000 ft (300 m) diameter Arecibo...
In the mid-1950s William Gordon of Cornell University suggested a new way of studying electrons in the Earth's ionosphere by bombarding them with high-energy radar signals. He then tried to obtain funding for a new facility to undertake this work by pointing out its potential use for both radar…
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West Germany was excluded from the development of radio astronomy in the crucial five years immediately after the end of the Second World War as restrictions on undertaking all forms of radio research were not lifted until 1950. The country then started basic radio astronomy research, but it was not…
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Full text Article Arecibo radio telescope

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A radio telescope, 305 meters in diameter and spherical in shape, sited in a natural hollow near the town and seaport of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is the world's largest single-dish telescope. It is operated by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center of Cornell University and has been in use…
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Full text Article radio telescope

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
An instrument for recording and measuring the radio-frequency emissions from celestial radio sources . All radio telescopes consist of an antenna , or system of antennas, connected by feeders to one or more receivers . The antennas may be in the form of dishes , simple linear dipoles , or Yagi…
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Full text Article Ooty Radio Telescope

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
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