Bernard F. BurkeBorn 7 Jun 1928.Bernard Flood Burke is an American astronomer who co-discovered that the giant planet Jupiter emits radio waves (1955). Burke and Kenneth L. Franklin, astronomers at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, were scanning the sky for radio waves from galaxies. By chance, they found a radio signal that resembled short bursts of static, similar to interference by lightning on home radios. After weeks of study, finding the signals were periodic, four minutes earlier each day, they pin-pointed Jupiter as the source. Never before had radio sounds from a planet in our solar system been detected. Later study showed the radio waves were circularly polarized, so a magnetic field was involved. They announced the discovery on 6 Apr 1955.« |
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