Mobile phone threat to radio astronomy

Plans to lift restrictions on mobile phone use in planes could cause major disruption to radio astronomy, scientists have warned.

Two US agencies – the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – are considering scrapping a ban on using cell phones on planes following pressure from travellers.

But astronomers – including representatives from the US’s National Academy of Sciences – are worried that transmissions from mobile phones could drown out radio signals from outer space, jeopardising vital research into the universe.

The problem is that cell phones generate radiation not only at their main operating frequency but also at multiples of this frequency. The frequency of one of these harmonics falls into the small band of the electromagnetic spectrum reserved for use by radio astronomers.

Because the radio signals detected by radio telescopes are incredibly weak, having travelled many light years across the universe, they could easily be swamped by radio interference from mobile phones. Even a single phone conversation on a plane could disrupt radio telescope observations.

According to one astronomer, lifting restrictions on cell phone use in planes would be tantamount to building a 40,000ft high mobile phone tower.

Source: GB2RS News - Courtesy of the RSGB

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