• DocumentCode
    1406946
  • Title

    In conjunction with Venus [planetary radar astronomy]

  • Author

    Butrica, Andrew J.

  • Author_Institution
    Franklin Park, NJ, USA
  • Volume
    34
  • Issue
    12
  • fYear
    1997
  • fDate
    12/1/1997 12:00:00 AM
  • Firstpage
    31
  • Lastpage
    38
  • Abstract
    Few people know that the value of the astronomical unit-the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, and the yardstick for gauging distances within the solar system-was determined not by astronomers, but electrical engineers. They did it using military radar and thereby opened up a new field of scientific research, known as planetary radar astronomy. The paper discusses the early history of planetary radar astronomy up until the mid 1960s
  • Keywords
    distance measurement; history; military systems; planets; radar applications; radioastronomical techniques; Earth Sun distance; astronomical unit; history; military radar; planetary radar astronomy; Astronomy; Earth; History; Radar; Sun; Venus;
  • fLanguage
    English
  • Journal_Title
    Spectrum, IEEE
  • Publisher
    ieee
  • ISSN
    0018-9235
  • Type

    jour

  • DOI
    10.1109/6.642966
  • Filename
    642966