Which wavelength is the most quiet, for a ground-based radio telescope?

Question

This might seem like a backwards question, but I'm interested in what wavelength to select in a (hypothetical) ground-based radio telescope observation to expect detecting as little as possible! :)

It should still be reachable from space, i.e. a wavelength with a high atmospheric absorption is probably a bad candidate.

I guess this could be answered by looking at a broad averaged spectrum collected by a radio telescope, and comparing against an atmospheric absorption spectrum chart.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 31 '14 at 22:43

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You may be looking for the "water hole". See http://www.setileague.org/general/waterhol.htm.

answered Dec 31 '14 at 22:43

ganbustein

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Interesting! Yes that is more or less exactly like the summary I was hoping for. It had been optimal if there was some link to an actual background spectrum (composite, if needed) I guess but this is a great start :) – BjornW Jan 02 '15 at 11:15
See my answer regarding observing the 21cm hydrogen line @1420MHz at https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/26139/amateur-radioastronomy-dish-suggestions/26778#26778 – IlludiumPu36 Jul 03 '18 at 01:55

Which wavelength is the most quiet, for a ground-based radio telescope?

1 Answers1