Radio Astronomy: Powerful Tool in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Introduction:

Today, the ability to image the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy, understand Jupiter’s Van Allen radiation belt, and reveal the Moon’s sandy surface is possible due to Radio Astronomy (a branch in the broad field of Astronomy). For many decades, scientists (Max Planck, Thomas Edison, Karl Jansky, and many more) from various scientific backgrounds put together their knowledge and discoveries to result in significant scientific breakthroughs in the field of Radio Astronomy. The ability to communicate, to track, and to apply the concepts of X-Ray is due to their immense hard work and dedication in this field of study. Consequently, Radio Astronomy has opened a plethora of opportunities and continues to shape our knowledge of the Universe we live in today. If not for Radio Astronomy, many of the astronomical events would remain unsolved and a mystery to humankind. Our capacity to view the Universe differently from before will continue to shape our future. In the future, new technologies will be implemented to gain further insight into the 1% of the Universe that we have never seen before. This research report will cover the historical context of Radio Astronomy and its current and future implications.

General Information:

Radio Astronomy is the study of radio emissions from extraterrestrial objects, and it started to play a significant role in the early 1930s (shortly before World War I). The contributions of “James Clerk Maxwell (1870), Heinrich Hertz (1870), Sir Oliver Lodge (1894), Max Planck (1900), Oliver Heaviside (1902), Guglielmo Marconi (1900)” (Ghigo, 2003), Karl Jansky and several other scientists in the fields of radio science and electrical engineering allowed Radio Astronomy to become more prominent in the 1950s. The field of radio astronomy is responsible for our enhanced understanding of the Universe today and is the primary driving force behind expeditions taken to explore the unexplained mysteries of the Universe.

Notable Findings:

All major scientific breakthroughs occurred due to the combined effort of multiple scientists and the documentation of the critical results after they performed their scientific methods. Similarly, the prehistory of Radio Astronomy involved the collaborative efforts of scientists who started experimentation with electricity and magnetism. In the 1830s, James Clerk Maxwell was the first one to suggest the existence of Electromagnetic Waves and developed four fundamental equations to deduce the relationship between electric and magnetic forces. Heinrich Hertz confirmed the existence of these Electromagnetic Waves through the creation of the first radio wave transmitter. After the presence of such waves was confirmed, many scientists suspected waves from extraterrestrial objects and began to hunt for radio waves from the Sun, despite numerous failed experiments. Furthermore, Sir Oliver Lodge helped with the innovation of radio technology while physicist Max Planck made a significant scientific breakthrough, and theorized that “energy had to be emitted or absorbed in small packets, or ‘quanta’ of energy” (Ghigo, 2003). Lastly, in the 1900s, the contributions of these scientists led to Guglielmo Marconi to send and receive signals from Newfoundland to Cornwall.

The prehistory of Radio Astronomy built a solid foundation for the discovery of commercial telephone service (e.g., Bell Telephone Company), which eventually led to Karl Jansky’s discovery of radio waves from the constellation Sagittarius A (located in the center of the Milky Way). The idea of radio waves emitted from celestial bodies led scientist Grobe Reber to create the first parabolic reflector radio telescope in 1937. His goal was to detail “the first radio map of the galactic plane and large portions of the sky” (Fredsti, n.d). Today, the contributions of various scientists have led to a better understanding of radio galaxies, the Milky Way Galaxies’ spiral arm and rotation, quasars (large celestial bodies), pulsars (pulsating radio stars), and nearby celestial objects (the Moon).

Obstacles:

During the prehistory of Radio Astronomy, scientists underwent obstacles with regard to technical limitations that led to failed experiments. Thomas Edison was known to be the first scientist to devise an experiment to detect radio waves from the Sun. However, his experiment was ruled out as unsuccessful as the instrument used was only able to detect long wavelengths that are blocked by the ionosphere (from entering the Earth). Furthermore, Charles Norman tried to resolve Wilsing and Scheiner’s failed experiment (concluded that the Earth absorbed radio waves), and conducted experiments at high altitudes on Mont Blanc. Norman’s apparatus was only able to detect low-frequency radio waves (occurs during solar maximum), and as there was a solar minimum during that time, there was no detection: his experiment was unsuccessful. Additionally, since the 1980s, the primary concern was inadequate funding for Radio Astronomy, and “important radio telescopes have [closed], and there has been minimal new capital investment in existing national facilities to upgrade them to state of the art, or even to maintain them and replace obsolete instrumentation” (National Academy Press, 1991). All of this led to a decrease in funding for individual scientists.

Applications:

Currently, in our society today there are many industrial, medical, and astronomical applications for all aspects of radio technology. Firstly, the industrial applications that exist today involve the FedEx company which uses Forth computer language (initially used for the Kitt Peak telescope) for tracking purposes, and the concept of gravitational radiation is applied to understand the stability of oil reservoirs. Secondly, Radio Astronomy detected renewable energy sources, and “technology is designed to image X-rays in X-ray telescopes - which have to be designed differently from visible-light telescopes - is [used] to monitor plasma fusion” (Rosenburg, Russo, Bladon, & Christensen, n.d) which is a source of renewable energy. Lastly, X-Ray technology is also implemented in airports to scan baggage.

In the future, an ambitious international project will work towards building a square kilometer array (SKA). The SKA is an array which consists of approximately 4,000 radio telescopes that will be used to capture “the first 1% of the Universe that even James Webb might not see” (Siegel, 2017). This initiative project involves the collaboration of 12 member countries and organizations across 20 countries. Currently, the UK government allocated 100 million pounds for the establishment of this project.

Conclusion:

Radio Astronomy is one of the most significant discoveries in the field of astronomy known to humankind. Numerous scientists from James Clerk Maxwell to Grobe Reber persisted and shared their major scientific ideas with the world. As a result of their hard work and dedication to this subject, today we can understand the Universe with greater depth. We continue to implement and innovate radio technology in our well-developed society.

Reflection:

After completing this research report on Radio Astronomy, I can better understand the physics behind mapping the Universe and the fundamental knowledge that allowed scientists to have a deep comprehension of celestial objects. Before I completed the report, I was completely oblivious about Radio Astronomy and its link to physics and our everyday life. However, after I finished the report, I am aware of how Radio Astronomy continues to influence our daily lives and is one of the fundamental components behind the advanced radio technologies we have today. Additionally, the depth study that we perform in relation to celestial bodies and the forms of communication we have today is possible due to the physics background we acquired from ancient physicists. Hence, I feel it is remarkable to see the great progress made and I am appreciative of the knowledge acquired from this field of study.