Radio window

Opacity of the Earth's atmosphere: the radio window spans larger wavelengths.

The radio window is the region of the radio spectrum that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. Typically, the lower limit of the radio window's range has a value of about 10 MHz (λ ≈ 30 m); the best upper limit achievable from optimal terrestrial observation sites is equal to approximately 1 THz (λ ≈ 0.3 mm).[1][2]

It plays an important role in astronomy; up until the 1940s, astronomers could only use the visible and near infrared spectra for their measurements and observations. With the development of radio telescopes, the radio window became more and more utilizable, leading to the development of radio astronomy that provided astrophysicists with valuable observational data.[3]

  1. ^ Condon, James J.; Ransom, Scott M. (2016). Essential Radio Astronomy. Princeton University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-691-13779-7.
  2. ^ "1 Introduction‣ Essential Radio Astronomy". www.cv.nrao.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  3. ^ Wilson, Thomas; Rohlfs, Kristen; Huettemeister, Susanne (2016). Tools of Radio Astronomy. Berlin: Springer-Verlag GmbH. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-3-662-51732-1. OCLC 954868912.