Introduction to Radio Astronomy
Radio astronomy is a field within astronomy that deals with the study of celestial objects in the radio frequency range. It is important that astronomers know how to use all the different types of telescopes available since each part of the electromagnetic spectrum will provide a unique insight in to the physical processes that take place. For example, it just so happens that the infrared region of the spectrum corresponds to the scale of typical thermal motions (vibrational energy levels of molecules) in most earth objects and hence can provide temperature information about these objects. However gamma rays correspond to the energies of transitions in the nucleus of atoms and correspond to information about processes with much higher energies.
Hence, by combining our knowledge of the whole spectrum, astronomers can glimpse information about a very wide range of astronomical processes.
