Introduction to Radio Astronomy

Radio Astronomy grew from an  accidental discovery in 1932, virtually ignored for years, to a prolific window to a previously invisible  universe,  producing four  Nobel Prizes. This seminar will introduce   exciting areas of current research and the technology that drives them.  Most new radio telescopes utilize  array techniques and the fundamental relation between the image  of radio wave intensity in the sky and the correlation function measured between spaced  antennas on the earth will be discussed. A movie of radio sky  images from a current low frequency array at the Caltech radio observatory will be presented.  A major new international instrument, the Square Km Array, is now in the detailed design phase and alternative next steps in the US will be described along with the current microwave technology developments in my group at Caltech.