alb3812159

Karl Jansky and His Merry-Go-Round

Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 - February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in August 1931 first discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way. He is considered one of the founding figures of radio astronomy. At Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, Jansky built an antenna designed to receive radio waves at a frequency of 20.5 MHz. It was mounted on a turntable that allowed it to be rotated in any direction, earning it the name "Jansky's merry-go-round". It had a diameter of approximately 100 ft. and stood 20 ft. tall. By rotating the antenna on a set of four Ford Model-T tires, the direction of a received signal could be pinpointed. A small shed to the side of the antenna housed an analog pen-and-paper recording system. No photographer credited, undated.

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Title:

Karl Jansky and His Merry-Go-Round

Caption:

Karl Guthe Jansky (October 22, 1905 - February 14, 1950) was an American physicist and radio engineer who in August 1931 first discovered radio waves emanating from the Milky Way. He is considered one of the founding figures of radio astronomy. At Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey, Jansky built an antenna designed to receive radio waves at a frequency of 20.5 MHz. It was mounted on a turntable that allowed it to be rotated in any direction, earning it the name "Jansky's merry-go-round". It had a diameter of approximately 100 ft. and stood 20 ft. tall. By rotating the antenna on a set of four Ford Model-T tires, the direction of a received signal could be pinpointed. A small shed to the side of the antenna housed an analog pen-and-paper recording system. No photographer credited, undated.

Category:

Science: Personalities

Credit:

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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Image size:

3976 x 2832 px | 32.2 MB

Print size:

33.7 x 24.0 cm | 13.3 x 9.4 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

1905 • 1950 • 1950S • 20 20TH XX XXTH TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20 XX TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20TH CENTURY • 20TH • AMERICA • AMERICAN • ANTENNA • BELL LABORATORIES • BELL LABS • BW • CELEBRITIES • CELEBRITY • FAMOUS PEOPLE • FAMOUS • FATHER OF RADIO ASTRONOMY • FIGURE • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • IMPORTANT • JANSKY'S MERRY-GO-ROUND • JANSKY • JANSKYS • KARL G. JANSKY • KARL GUTHE JANSKY • KARL JANSKY • MALE • MAN • MEN • MERRY-GO-ROUND • MILKY WAY GALAXY • MILKY WAY • NOTABLE • PEOPLE • PERSON • PERSONALITIES • PERSONALITY • PHOTO • PHOTOGRAPH • PHYSICIST • PHYSICS • RADIO ASTRONOMER • RADIO ASTRONOMY • RADIO ENGINEER • RADIO FREQUENCIES • RADIO WAVES • RADIOASTRONOMY • SCIENCE • SCIENCE: PERSONALITIES • TWENTIETH CENTURY • UNITED STATES • US • USA • WELL-KNOWN