Objectives: Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to define and give examples of a “point source,” a “localized source,” and an “extended source” of radio frequency emissions; distinguish between “foreground” and “background” radiation; describe the theoretical source of “cosmic background radiation”; describe a radio star, a flare star, and a pulsar; explain why pulsars are sometimes referred to as standard clocks; describe the relationship between pulsar spin down and age; describe “normal” galaxies and “radio” galaxies; describe the general characteristics of the emissions from Jupiter, Io, and the Io plasma torus; describe the impact of interference on radio astronomy observations; and describe a major source of natural interference and of human made interference.
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