Section Pages: Introduction – Why Radio? – History – Light – Pixels
Disclaimer
The Radio Astronomy section of the ASRAS website is under constant construction. So please be patient with us as we learn how to design effective web pages in WordPress.
Thanks,
Martin Pepe
Light Is Light
A Light Wave is a Light Wave no matter how LONG
Relevant Links: Sources of Visible Light, Common Molecules in Space, full EM Spectrum, Visible Spectrum, A History of early Radio Astronomy
Light, X-Rays, Radio, etc. are all part of the Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum. Light can behave as either particles (photons) and wavelengths (waves – like waves crashing periodically on a beach).
The radio that you listen to, the microwave that cooks your dinner, the color of a red rose, even the X-Rays used in the hospital when you break a leg, are all the SAME – they only vary in length. Your eyes, then, are really tiny radio receivers.
Regardless of wavelength, all EM waves travel at the same speed – 186,000 miles per second! How many seconds in a year? (31,536,000) x 186,000 = 1 LIGHT YEAR
Our nearest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, is about a mere 2.6 million light-years away.
Complicated molecules and compounds like proteins, sugars, phosphates, and 22 Amino Acids (ALL those things that go into your RNA & DNA) have been found in DEEP SPACE with a RADIO TELESCOPE!
Life (as we know it) depends on WATER, which is all-over outer space (the water molecule resonates at 22 GHz) and is FOUND with a Radio Telescope!
WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF!!
