Books and Other Literature
Books and Papers about Radio Astronomy
This website is really only a very brief introduction to the subject of radio astronomy, with a focus on assisting amateur astronomers with some experience of radio and/or electronics to understand and construct projects that utilise radio frequency waves for observing astronomical phenomena.
Obviously it is a huge field and there are some excellent books which explain in more depth how to construct these projects but also take you further, looking at professional radio astronomy and exploring some phenomena that are difficult for the amateur to access without large and expensive equipment.
I present a few of my personal favourites with a brief description.
The Radio Sky by Jeff Lashley
This is my favourite book on the subject, from a practical point of view. It explains in great detail how to construct the projects I have presented in this website and explains how and why they work. I would consider this a must for anyone wanting to build their own radio astronomy apparatus, including aerials and radio receivers.
Note: The Radio Sky book is not related in any way to theradiosky.com
Amateur Radio Astronomy by John Fielding
A mixture of practical radio astronomy and a good historical perspective, albeit it is a fairly recent subject. Plenty of circuit diagrams, and detailed construction advice for meteor detection and hydrogen line observation
The Invisible Universe by Gerrit Verschuur
An excellent book that focuses on the broader picture of radio astronomy, it's history and the work done by pioneers and professional astronomers around the World.
Radio Nature by Renato Romero
Although there is some practical advice and the odd circuit, the focus of this book is on the radio wave and as the title suggests, how they are generated. This is a must for any amateur radio astronomer wishing to understand the basic physics.