A Science is Born

Abstract

In 1933 John Kraus, then at the University of Michigan, attempted to detect the sun by using a searchlight reflector to focus the radio waves. He failed because the receiver was not sensitive enough. This was the first use of a reflector-type radio telescope. At the Serendipity meeting, Kraus stated that meaningful accidental discovery occurs only as the result of “being in the right place with the right equipment doing the right experiment at the right time.” Another noted astronomer, R. Hanbury Brown, added that the person should “not know too much,” otherwise the discovery might not be made!