Radio Astronomy: Early Discoveries

This lecture explores the early history of radio astronomy, starting from James Maxwell's foundational equations in the 19th century to Edward Appleton's Nobel prize-winning work on radio wave reflection in the Earth's ionosphere. It also covers Karl Jansky's groundbreaking observations of the Milky Way and Grote Reber's advancements in radio dish design, leading to the first radio survey of the sky and the detection of extragalactic radio sources.