Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:12:57.353Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Radio Galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2023

Kenneth I. Kellermann
Affiliation:
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia
Ellen N. Bouton
Affiliation:
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia
Get access

Summary

After radio surveys of the sky uncovered a variety of discrete radio sources, there was an intense debate as to whether the radio emission originated in nearby “radio stars,” or were powerful sources located in distant galaxies? In Australia, John Bolton and Gordon Stanley discovered radio emission from two known galaxies. However, unwilling to accept the implied powerful radio emission if the sources were so distant, they instead erroneously reported that the optical counterparts to the radio sources were nearby Galactic nebulosities and not remote galaxies. Later, another Australian scientist identified the bright Cygnus A radio source with a faint galaxy and drew this identification to the attention of Mt. Wilson and Palomar astronomers, who initially either ignored or rejected the identification as being unrealistic. But, a few years later, they independently reidentified the Cygnus A radio sources, firmly establishing the nature of powerful radio galaxies and leading to wide-ranging speculation about the source of the apparent huge energy needed to power the giant radio lobes that typically extended hundreds of thousands of light years from the host galaxy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Radio Galaxies
  • Kenneth I. Kellermann, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, Ellen N. Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Book: Star Noise: Discovering the Radio Universe
  • Online publication: 04 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009023443.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Radio Galaxies
  • Kenneth I. Kellermann, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, Ellen N. Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Book: Star Noise: Discovering the Radio Universe
  • Online publication: 04 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009023443.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Radio Galaxies
  • Kenneth I. Kellermann, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, Ellen N. Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia
  • Book: Star Noise: Discovering the Radio Universe
  • Online publication: 04 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009023443.006
Available formats
×