Conducting Radio Astronomy in the EMC Environment

Radio signals from pulsars and distant galaxies are difficult enough to detect on their own, but the problems encountered in making accurate astronomical observations at microwave frequencies are greatly compounded by terrestrial sources of electromagnetic interference (EMI). This paper discusses a wide variety of EMI sources as they affect the operation of radio-astronomy telescopes. These sources can be as simple as a pulsing automotive spark plug or as complex as an aircraft-to-aircraft radio transmission. Various protective countermeasures can be taken; however, compatibility between sensitive microwave receivers and the rest of the radio-frequency (RF) world has yet to be achieved.