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Discover the wonders of radio astronomy, from exploring the Milky Way to detecting molecules in space. Learn how radio telescopes work, what resolutions they provide, and delve into magnetic fields in Active Galactic Nuclei.
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What is Radio Astronomy? MIT Haystack Observatory This material was developed under a grant from the National Science Foundation
The Electromagnetic Spectrum • Spans a range of wavelengths • Visible is just a narrow range • Radiowaves span a large range - from under 1mm to several meters
Sources of Radio emission • Solar System - sun, planets • Milky way - star forming regions, old stars, supernova remnants • Extragalactic - quasars, radio jets • Molecules
Orion Nebula: Stars are born…RADIO INFRARED OPTICAL XRAY
Crab Nebula: a star that died in 1054RADIO OPTICAL XRAY
Cassiopeia A: a star that died in ~1700RADIO INFRARED OPTICAL XRAY
Virgo A: Hidden Massive Black Hole shooting out a JetRADIO OPTICAL
What are molecules good for? • Detections - newest one - “glycoaldehyde” (sugar) • Probes - measure temperature, density, chemistry • Kinematics - velocities - doppler effect
HC3N as a density probe in the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC-1)
Interferometry Getting better “resolution”
NRAO/AUI Compare the radio image on the right, made with the Haystack 37-m single dish telescope at a frequency of 43 GHz with the radio image above made with the 27-element Very Large Array.
VLBI images of SiO maser emission in Orion and a possible model
Magnetic Fields in Active Galactic Nuclei • The Blazar 1055+018 • Active Galactic Nuclei • 15 billion light years distant • AGN are 40 times more luminous and 10,000 times larger than the brightest “normal” galaxies • Displays a colossal jet of relativistic plasma • Powered by a supermassive, rotating black hole