It\u2019s a complicated issue and it helps to start off with a bit of background on the subject, to understand the impact on the relatively young science of radio astronomy<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a field that, after all, will have the greatest chance of discovering advanced extraterrestrial civilisations.<\/p>\n Radio astronomy is protected by international law, through the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and its Radio Regulations.<\/p>\n These Radio Regulations define certain \u2018silent\u2019 frequency bands, where transmitters are not allowed to operate.<\/p>\n Although this was adequate for the early years of this new branch of astronomy, the Universe \u2018speaks\u2019 in a very broad range of frequencies.<\/p>\n Modern radio astronomy needs to often \u2018listen\u2019 in bands assigned to transmitting users.<\/p>\n This is possible by building telescopes in very remote and protected areas of the planet where the use of the radio spectrum is minimal.<\/p>\n In these \u2018Radio Quiet Zones\u2019, all radio transmitters are banned. Indeed, mobile phones, laptops and even smart watches are not allowed.<\/p>\n The difficulty is that, even in Radio Quiet Zones, we can\u2019t escape air- and space-borne transmitters and have to cope with them.<\/p>\n Radio observations of the Universe can inform us about a vast variety of processes, in galaxy, star and planet evolution.<\/p>\n So choosing one example to illustrate the impact of the new radio interference sources does not do justice to the scale of science that Square Kilometre Array<\/a> (SKA) radio telescopes can do, but here goes.<\/p>\n![\""Milky\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/eots04_MilkyWayBubbles-f577bb5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C709"\" "\\"\"Milky\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""The\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/ALMA_ESO-1a52833.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"The\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Why use radio astronomy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Jupiter\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/jupiter_ALMA_redfig2-229b292.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Jupiter\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""An\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/10\/HL-Tauri-ESO-48646f6-e1572265503357.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C468"\" "\\"\"An\\"\/")
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![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2022\/02\/Universe-Redshift-135f961.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C349"\" "\\"\"Universe\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/09\/Page-119-Crab-Nebula-051b0f9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C490"\" "\\"\"A\\"\/")
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