The twinkling of radio sources

Scintillation plays an important role in “The Dynamic Universe” research theme of CAASTRO, the Australian Centre for All-sky Astrophysics. Radio waves traveling through the ionised interstellar medium of our galaxy will experience constructive and destructive interference. The phenomena is called interstellar scintillation and effects radio sources with small angular sizes. These radio sources will appear to twinkle, like stars observed with our eyes, when we look at them with a radio telescope.

Credit: CAASTRO/Swinburne Astronomy Productions