The NASA Radio Jove Project

Abstract

A quick search on the internet will reveal a great deal of information about how to use a short wave radio receiver, to receive radio emissions from the planet Jupiter and from the Sun. Some of the information and ideas that have been posted are good, but some are quite frankly wrong. Starting with the correct equipment gives the best chance of success. To use optical astronomy again for a moment for an example, if entering the hobby by purchasing one of the “department store” telescopes with their poor optics, very shaky mounts with poor telescope controls and the ridiculous magnification claims of ×600 for a 60 millimeters (2.4 inch) aperture. They will get fed up trying to operate the telescope and will soon lose interest and move on. Whereas, the advice from a fellow astronomer would probably be to purchase a good pair of binoculars and a good star map as a first step.