Signals from space: Radio astronomy for beginners

Abstract

With the use of radio frequencies for observations of the sky, astronomy opened a new window to the universe. Although the early beginnings date back to the 1930s, there are still exciting things waiting to be discovered by open-minded observers. With the following chapter we hope to convey the fascination and educational potential of radio astronomy to lay-men, teachers and school students alike. To to this, we describe the first steps to successful observations of the sun and the giant planet Jupiter on the base of simple commercially available equipment. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.