The First Black Woman PhD Astronomer: Barbara A. Williams
Olivia Wilkins
Dr. Barbara A. Williams is not only the first Black woman PhD; she’s a radio astronomer!
Read More
Scoping out Radio Astronomy
A blog dedicated to telling the history of radio astronomy: its evolution, its discoveries, and its telescopes
Filtering by Category: People
Radio Astronomy: Not Just for the Far-out Invisible Universe
Olivia Wilkins
Radio astronomy explores the invisible universe. While the field largely focuses on interstellar space, radio astronomy also works closer to home too! In honor of the 2017 total solar eclipse, I've dug into the history of the Sun in the context of radio astronomy.
Read MoreJames Stanley Hey, the Sun, and Extragalactic Radio
Olivia Wilkins
Like his radio astronomer predecessors Jansky and Reber, James Stanley Hey's celestial observations were originally discovered. Hey first observed solar radiation while fighting German communications jams during World War II, and he continued on to detect the first extragalactic radio waves (which were originally dubbed "radio stars").
Read MoreGrote Reber and the Power of Amateurs
Olivia Wilkins
Inspired by Karl Jansky's discovery of radio emission from the center of the Milky Way, an amateur radio enthusiast became a pioneer for the field of radio astronomy.
Read MoreKarl Jansky and a New Age in Astronomy
Olivia Wilkins
On a quest to discover the source of radio interference, Karl Jansky uncovered that one of the greatest sources of radio emissions is our own Milky Way.
Read More