Sullivan W.T. (ed.) The Early Years of Radio Astronomy: Reflections Fifty Years After Jansky's Discovery

Cambridge University Press, 1984. - 421 pp.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.The Earliest Years
W. T. Sullivan III. Karl Jansky and the discovery of extraterrestrial radio waves.
G. Reber. Early radio astronomy at Wheaton, Illinois.
J. L. Greenstein. Optical and radio astronomers in the early years.
Australia
E. G. Bowen. The origins of radio astronomy in Australia.
W. N. Christiansen The first decade of solar radio astronomy in Australia.
F. J. Kerr. Early days in radio and radar astronomy in Australia.
B. Y. Mills. Radio sources and the log N-Iog S controversy.
R. N. Bracewell. Early work on imaging theory in radio astronomy.
England
A. C. B. Lovell. The origins and early history of Jodrell Bank.
R. Hanbury Brown. Paraboloids, galaxies and stars: memories of Jodrell Bank.
F. G. Smith. Early work on radio stars at Cambridge.
P. A. G. Scheuer. The development of aperture synthesis at Cambridge.
The Rest of the World
A. E. Salomonovich. The first steps of Soviet radio astronomy.
V. L. Ginzburg. Remarks on my work on radio astronomy.
J. F. Denisse. The early years of radio astronomy in France.
A. E. Covington. Beginnings of solar radio astronomy in Canada.
H. Tanaka. Development of solar radio astronomy in Japan up until 1960.
Broader Reflections
D. O. Edge. Styles of research in three radio astronomy groups.
W. H. McCrea. The influence of radio astronomy on cosmology.
H. C. van de Hulst. Nanohertz astronomy.
O. Gingerich. Radio astronomy and the nature of science.