The Early Years of Radio Astronomy: Reflections Fifty Years after Jansky*s Discovery

Radio astronomy has revolutionized the course of modern astronomy. Marking the fiftieth anniversary of Jansky's discovery in 1933 of extraterrestrial radio emission, Professor Sullivan asked many of the pioneers in the field to set down their versions of events and the people who made them. Each of the score of contributors seeks to give a good 'feeling' for the times to the great majority of readers who will not have experienced them. Over 150 illustrations, mostly historical photographs of men and machines, enliven the various recollections and reflections. The list of contributors includes many of the key personalities and covers all the major laboratories and countries involved in radio astronomy before 1960. In addition to the radio astronomers themselves, there are contributions from optical astronomers and theorists closely related to the field, as well as historians of twentieth century astronomy.