Abstract
Radio astronomy has two main branches. In the one case, radiation emitted by celestial bodies is studied; in the other, signals are transmitted from the Earth, and echoes received after reflection from celestial bodies. The latter, or radar, method has the advantage that the signals are under the control of the observer, but it is limited in its application to the nearer bodies in the solar system. This restriction is a consequence of the double divergence of the energy which occurs in the two-way propagation path; the received intensity falls off as the fourth power of the distance, whereas in the direct reception method, as in optical astronomy, the second power is involved.
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General references
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© 1959 Springer-Verlag OHG. Berlin · Gö · Heidelberg
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Kerr, F.J. (1959). Radio Echoes from Sun, Moon and Planets. In: Flügge, S. (eds) Astrophysics III: The Solar System / Astrophysik III: Das Sonnensystem. Handbuch der Physik Encyclopedia of Physics, vol 11 / 52. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45929-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45929-0_5
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