Description: Radio waves are the longest wavelength, lowest frequency, and lowest energy part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They range from a shortest wavelength of about 1 millimeter and frequency of 300 gigahertz, to many kilometers in wavelength and megahertz in frequency. Our atmosphere is transparent for most of this waveband, allowing radio telescopes to be located on the ground.

Related Terms:

• Electromagnetic Radiation
• Microwave Radiation
• Radio Telescope

Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher

The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".