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ScopeThis article considers a number of radio emitting objects that can be observed by amateur radio astronomers using a modest range of equipment. The order in which these objects are discussed is largely determined by their distance from Earth and this is loosely related to their ease of detection. Radio emissions generated within the Earth’s Magnetosphere and Ionosphere are not considered here. Emissions such as Whistlers and Chorus are however of interest to amateur radio astronomers, and much has been written elsewhere about the impact of Solar X rays on the Ionosphere resulting in Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances (SIDs). The strength and emission spectrum of a variety of distant radio sources are considered and related to the physical mechanism by which they are generated. This gives some insight into the range of processes by which naturally occurring radio emissions can be produced from sources within the Solar System to those out in intergalactic space. Describing the equipment that can be used to detect these sources is
not the main purpose of this article but is touched upon where appropriate,
to illustrate the scale and technical complexity of instruments required
to observe some sources. |