----- Original Message -----
From: "Barry E.Maguire" <bmaguire@att.net>
To: "David M. Benton" <wb4jgg@arrl.net>
Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 9:35 AM
Subject: Fw: [WSVHF] Fwd: [Moon-net] All: Radio Astronomy
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Shelby Ennis, W8WN" <w8wn@arrl.net>
> To: <n6cl@esther.fuller.edu>; <wa50@arrl.org>
> Cc: <hsms@mailman.qth.net>; <wsvhf@mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2002 9:08 AM
> Subject: [WSVHF] Fwd: [Moon-net] All: Radio Astronomy
>
>
> >
> > >From: "Rein A. Smit" <rein0zn@ix.netcom.com>
To: <vhfcontesting@contesting.com>
> > >Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 00:29:00 -0800
> > >
> > > Hello All,
> > >
> > >For those interested in Radio Astronomy:
> > >
> > >=========================================
> > >
> > >Grote Reber, Who Built First Radio Telescope for Astronomy, Dies at 90
> > >
> > >By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
> > >
> > >Grote Reber, a pioneering radio astronomer who built the first
> substantial
> > >radio
> > >telescope dedicated to astronomy and put it in his backyard in Wheaton,
> > >Ill., died
> > >on Friday in Tasmania, Australia, his home for some 50 years. He was
90.
> > >
> > >Mr. Reber was an engineering student in 1931 when Karl Jansky of Bell
> > >Telephone
> > >Laboratories, using a large antenna system, made his famous discovery
of
> > >cosmic
> > >radio waves emanating from beyond the solar system.
> > >
> > >Mr. Jansky's results received little attention from other scientists at
> > >the time,
> > >but Mr. Reber, who was also a ham radio operator, set out to determine
> > >whether the
> > >waves were coming only from the galaxy or from other celestial objects.
> > >
> > >In 1937, using about a half-year's worth of salary he had saved from
jobs
> at
> > >various radio manufacturers, Mr. Reber erected his telescope.
> > >
> > >But much like Mr. Jansky's accomplishment, Mr. Reber's invention went
> > >relatively
> > >unnoticed, garnering the attention only of his puzzled neighbors.
> > >
> > >"Jansky's discovery that the galaxy was giving off radio waves was
> > >considered such
> > >a strange finding at the time that no one appreciated it or followed up
> on
> > >it,
> > >except for Reber," said Dr. Woodruff Sullivan, an astronomer and a
> > >historian of
> > >science at the University of Washington.
> > >
> > >"The two of them were the pioneers of radio astronomy," Dr. Sullivan
> said.
> > >"Before Reber, there was no radio astronomy ??" just `astronomy'
because
> > >people
> > >only used optical telescopes."
> > >
> > >Mr. Reber based his design for the telescope on a simple optical
mirror,
> > >but on a
> > >much larger scale. A curved, or parabolic, dish was used to focus a
wide
> > >range of
> > >radio frequencies. Made of sheet metal, the dish had a diameter of 31.4
> > >feet and
> > >could focus radio waves to a point 20 feet above it.
> > >
> > >A radio receiver that could amplify faint cosmic signals by a factor of
> > >several
> > >million was attached to the telescope, making the waves strong enough
to
> > >be recorded
> > >and charted.
> > >
> > >After two years of developing and testing receivers and roaming the sky
> > >with his
> > >telescope nightly, Mr. Reber published "Cosmic Static," a series of
> > >articles in
> > >The Astrophysical Journal that many scientists today use to mark the
> birth of
> > >intentional radio astronomy.
> > >
> > >In 1944, he created the first contour radio map of the sky, with
brighter
> > >areas
> > >indicating richer radio sources, the brightest being the center of the
> > >Milky Way.
> > >
> > >Mr. Reber made increasingly detailed measurements and published them
over
> > >the years
> > >in many prestigious journals, like Nature and The Journal of
Geophysical
> > >Research.
> > >
> > >The results of his surveys helped establish radio astronomy as a major
> > >field after
> > >World War II and his seminal radio telescope paved the way for the
> > >landmark discoveries
> > >of quasars, pulsars and the remnant glow left over from the Big Bang.
> > >
> > >Mr. Reber went on to receive a number of major awards usually reserved
> for
> > >professional astronomers, including the American Astronomical Society's
> > >highest
> > >honor in 1962 and several lectureships.
> > >
> > >Grote Reber was born in Chicago in 1911 and earned his bachelor's
degree
> > >from the
> > >Armour Institute of Technology, now the Illinois Institute of
Technology.
> > >He worked
> > >for the National Bureau of Standards in the late 1940's, before leaving
> > >for Hawaii
> > >and, ultimately, Tasmania to study the cosmos through holes in the
layer
> of
> > >charged particles, or ionosphere, in the earth's atmosphere.
> > >
> > >Mr. Reber's original radio telescope is on display at the National
Radio
> > >Astronomy
> > >Observatory's site in Green Bank, W. Va., alongside a full-scale
replica
> of
> > >Mr. Jansky's antenna.
> > >
> > >
> > >====================
> > >
> > >
> > >Best wishes for 2003 es 73
> > >
> > >Rein W6/PA0ZN
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > WSVHF mailing list
> > WSVHF@mailman.qth.net
> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/wsvhf
>
>
|