Radioastronomy: A Broader Look

The existence of the celestial bodies is known due to the light they emit. But light is a small part of a bigger phenomenon known as electromagnetic radiation. The representation of all kinds of electromagnetic radiation as a function of its frequency is called the electromagnetic spectrum. If we only studied the visible part of the spectrum, we would ignore a great deal of information. The celestial bodies emit radiation in all the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with very different intensity. To capture these data, astronomers design new types of telescopes that capture radiation at different wavelengths, among them the radiotelescopes that, as the name indicates, detect radio waves. The radiotelescope can be compared to a regular radio set. A radio station sends information by means of radio waves. The radio set captures these waves by means of its antenna, processes it and reproduces the information (music, etc.) in audible form. In the field of radioastronomy, interesting observations can be carried out: radio emission from stars, nebulas, pulsars, distant galaxies and stars, radiogalaxies, the Milky Way, the Sun, Jupiter, etc