The Early Years of Radio Astronomy at Caltech

Abstract

By the early 1950s astronomy in the United States was under pressure to embrace radio astronomy, which was being developed largely outside the USA. Much of the motivation derived from the need for accurate radio source positions, so that optical telescopes like the California Institute of Technology's giant Palomar Telescope and the nearby Mt Wilson Telescope could identify these sources with astronomical objects. To lead Caltech's move into radio astronomy its president, Lee DuB ridge, realised that he needed a leader from a country with more practical experience than the USA. He turned to his wartime friend E. G. 'Taffy' Bowen, chief of the CSIRO's Radiophysics Laboratory in Sydney, who 'loaned' him John Bolton. John stayed at Caltech for a bare five years, but it was a time of inspired guidance that helped to secure a place in radio astronomy, not only for Caltech, but for the USA.