radio astronomy

noun

: astronomy dealing with radio waves received from outside the earth's atmosphere
radio astronomer noun
radio astronomical adjective

Examples of radio astronomy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Using the James Webb Space Telescope and a radio astronomy observatory in Chile, the first specks of planet-forming material were detected around a star called HOPS-315, about 1,300 light-years from the solar system. Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025 Now cutting-edge radio astronomy is helping cosmologists peer back in time to the very start of the universe, when only Hula-Hooping particles existed. Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 20 May 2025 It’s hoped that the upcoming Square Kilometer Array radio astronomy observatory will help researchers look for technosignatures in the cosmos. Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025 An unprecedented low-frequency radio astronomy experiment is now underway, 18 months after entering an orbit beyond the far side of the moon. IEEE Spectrum, 2 Dec. 2019 See All Example Sentences for radio astronomy

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of radio astronomy was in 1948

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Cite this Entry

“Radio astronomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/radio%20astronomy. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

radio astronomy

noun
: astronomy dealing with electromagnetic waves of radio frequency received from outside the earth's atmosphere
radio astronomer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on radio astronomy

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