I really liked Contact but I fear the scene of Ms. Foster listening gave a lot of people the wrong impression. Radio telescopes like the refractors and reflectors we use all pick up basically the same thing, namely electromagnetic radiation. The difference being the wavelength of that radiation. Ours pick up the part of the spectrum we can see (visible light) and record with film/ CCDs and then display on a monitor or as a print while radio telescopes pick up parts of the spectrum we can not see but which can still be recorded and displayed on a monitor or as a print. So yes, your assumption is correct. BTW, in either case it is possible to turn the data into sound but other than for fun or for movies it's really not necessary. patrick On 11 Jun 2008, at 10:53, Daren Campbell wrote:
I'm new to the world of astronomy and while studying the different forms of electromagnetic radiation (light) I've had a question in my mind that I know is a stupid question but I can't help but ask.... Why is radio astronomy associated with listening? Or is it? All I have ever learned about science comes from the movies and I remember watching "Contact" with Jodi Foster's character sitting with her eyes closed "listening to the stars". I suppose radio telescopes can pick up radio waves and convert them to sounds but is that really what they are used for. I would assume radio telescopes are mostly used to pick up radio waves and convert them to images, like the ones seen on the world wide telescope. Am I right in this assumtion?