Olof Rydbeck and early Swedish radio astronomy: A personal perspective

Abstract

The spectacular development of radio astronomy in Europe and Australia in the period soon after World War II was mostly propelled by ‘amateur’ scientists motivated by a spirit of adventure. Totally untrained in astronomy, these pioneers were necessarily courageous and highly individualistic. Each of the leaders was ‘a character’, and often larger than life. And among these personalities there was none bigger than Olof Rydbeck of Sweden. He was already well known for his studies of electromagnetic theory and the invention and fabrication of devices for ever higher frequencies. He was one of the pioneers in the study of the ionosphere, and had built powerful sounders and also detectors for meteor trails. The creation of the Onsala Radio Observatory was entirely due to his efforts.