Overview
- Includes new chapters that encompass the amazing work already being done by ALMA and some of the new radio telescopes that have come into operation since 2007
- Provides new information that concerns the political reality of what happens to “big science” when it becomes too big to be affordable
- Verschuur both entertains and informs about the contribution that radio astronomy is making towards an understanding of the universe Highly recommended. All levels.” (W. E. Howard III, CHOICE, Vol. 44 (11), August, 2007)
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe (ASTRONOM)
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
Table of contents (19 chapters)
-
Front Matter
Keywords
About this book
Hidden from human view, accessible only to sensitive receivers attached to huge radio telescopes, the invisible universe beyond our senses continues to fascinate and intrigue our imaginations. Closer to home, in the Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers listen patiently to the ticking of pulsars that tell of star death and states of matter of awesome densities. All of this happens out there in the universe hidden from our eyes, even when aided by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This is the story of radio astronomy, of how radio waves are generated by stars, supernova, quasars, colliding galaxies and by the very beginnings of the universe itself. The author discusses what radio astronomers are doing in the New Mexico desert, in a remote valley in Puerto Rico, and in the green Pocahontas Valley in West Virginia, as well as dozens of other remote sites around the world. With each of these observatories, the scientists collect and analyze their data, "listening" to the radio signals from space in order to learn what, or perhaps who, is out there as well. The author specifically highlights enormous changes that have occurred in the field over the past 50 years, including the political reality of radio astronomy and what that could mean for the future.
Reviews
“This is the third edition of Verschuur’s very readable history of radio astronomy. … Verschuur (Univ. of Memphis) traces the development of radio astronomy from its birth in 1932 through the technological improvements made based on discoveries during WW II, to large government supported projects, and up to the modern day. … The well-done color illustrations are abundant, and the appendix of technical terms is useful. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and lower-level undergraduates.” (M.-K. Hemenway, Choice, Vol. 52 (12), August, 2015)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Invisible Universe
Book Subtitle: The Story of Radio Astronomy
Authors: Gerrit Verschuur
Series Title: Astronomers' Universe
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13422-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-13421-5Published: 16 February 2015
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-13422-2Published: 23 January 2015
Series ISSN: 1614-659X
Series E-ISSN: 2197-6651
Edition Number: 3
Number of Pages: XII, 259
Number of Illustrations: 13 b/w illustrations, 69 illustrations in colour
Topics: Popular Science in Astronomy, Astronomy, Observations and Techniques, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics