Expand Your Radio Horizons

Radio Astronomy is a topic we have returned to a few times in RadioUser, and we will do so again. In the forthcoming February 2021 issue, for example, Andrew Thomas provides an exhilarating introduction to the United Kingdom Radio Astronomy Association (UKRAA) and its receivers and aerials. He will show you how you can put together and enjoy simple radio astronomy projects yourselves. Andrew recommends several websites and books, which will guide you into this fascinating subject thoroughly and professionally.

The titles by Jeff Lashley (The Radio Sky and How To Observe It, 2010) and Steven Arnold (Radio and Radar Astronomy Projects for Beginners, 2021), for example, are great compendia of the history of radio astronomy, equipment overviews. The books also contain many hints and tips as to practical projects you can do at home. These projects involve, to name but a few, Very Low Frequency (VLF) monitoring, the Stanford Solar Centre SuperSID Monitor, The NASA INSPIRE and Radio Jove Project, using your PC as a VLF receiver, and Radio Astronomy with a Software-Defined Receiver (SDR).

All of the titles on this page are well worth acquiring for the shack library, and we will review the new 2021 text, by Steven Arnold in one of the forthcoming issues of the magazine. Take your reading to the Stars – and please contact me if you should be interested in writing about this subject for RadioUser.

GW