Ratio presents: Tuning In To The Radio Universe
Channel: Ratio BG
Date: 2021-02-16

There’s a hidden, invisible universe out there that 'speaks' to us through wavelengths and frequencies we cannot see with our eyes or with regular telescopes, but we are nowadays in an earshot of, thanks to radio telescopes!

They have allowed us to 'hear' the secrets of the gas giant planets, the blasts from the hearts of galaxies, or the last 'breaths' of dying stars. Recent advances in radio telescopes have also enabled us to dig in one of the biggest mysteries in the universe - dark energy - giving us as a result mindblowing insights into the origins and evolution of outer space!
To learn more about this extraordinary astronomy field and its breakthroughs, we have invited Prof. Peter Gallagher, Head of Astrophysics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS)!

Prick up your ears to our talk to find out about:
- the recent discoveries in the field of radio astronomy;
- the role of the state-of-the-art radio telescope called the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR);
- the multiple lines of research LOFAR allows due to its multi-beaming capabilities.

LOFAR is so far the largest low-frequency radio telescope in the world, stretching across the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, France, Italy...and hopefully soon, Bulgaria. Its array is designed to monitor low-frequency radio waves, a largely unexplored part of radiation from the sky. One critical source of these radio emissions are extremely feeble signals from the cold hydrogen gas that dominated the cosmos during the so-called dark ages of the universe.