Light Astronomy.

In the 1950s light astronomy, that is, scientific advancement based on what one could see through various telescopes that magnified images, was nearing its technological limit. The giant telescope at Mount Palomar was producing sharp, clear views of celestial bodies, including the planets. These images would not be greatly improved until satellites began transmitting pictures of the planets from close range decades later. The next big technological breakthrough in astronomy during the 1950s was the radio telescope.

Celestial Static.

Radio astronomy was born in 1932, when K. G. Jansky noted that radios picked up static from some source. He traced this to radio waves emitted by celestial bodies, especially certain stars. This curious finding became the field of radio astronomy. It was subsequently discovered that all stars emit various waves: light is one form of electromagnetic wave; radio is another, with a longer...