The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched a series of articles exploring the science, facilities and wider importance of radio astronomy, as well as the growing challenges posed by radio-frequency interference and the rapidly changing space environment.
The series covers a broad range of topics, including radio galaxies and black holes, VLBI and geodesy, galaxy evolution, cosmology, transient sources and SETI, as well as satellite interference, spectrum protection, the radio-quiet sky and the relationship between astronomy, space activities and society.
The series comes at an important time for the radio astronomy community, with preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference WRC-27 underway. It highlights the importance of international cooperation between the radio astronomy and telecommunications communities in protecting access to the radio spectrum for scientific research.
The complete series, including all current and future articles, is available through the ITU’s central overview:
Radio astronomy at the regulatory crossroads: WRC-27 and beyond – ITU series overview
The series includes contributions covering the scientific potential of radio astronomy, the role of radio observations in monitoring Earth and space, the impact of satellite constellations and the importance of preserving the radio sky as a shared resource.