On Jan. 10, 1946, the U.S. army bounced radar signals off of Earths moon for the very first time ever. Referred to as “Project Diana,” this was the first experiment in radio astronomy. They set up a big transmitter, receiver and antenna at a lab in New Jersey and blasted brief radio pulses in the direction of the moon. 2.5 seconds later, the reflected radio signals were discovered. The “bedsring” antenna utilized by Project Diana scientists to shoot radio signals at the moon in the very first presentation of radio astronomy. (Image credit: NASA via U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Museum,, Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey) So it took 2.5 seconds for the radio waves to make the 477,000-mile big salami to and from the moon.With this effective experiment, Project Diana marked the birth of radio astronomy.Catch up on our entire “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist. On This Day in Space Archive! Still inadequate space? Do not forget to have a look at our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week. Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook..
