What is radio interferometry?

Radio interferometry is like a giant telescope for radio waves. It uses two or more antennas that are linked together to create a single larger antenna. This giant antenna can collect radio signals from distant objects in space. It’s like using a magnifying glass to see things that are far away. To help you understand it better, imagine that you and your friend each have a telescope. When you both point your telescopes at the same distant object, you can combine the two images together to get a better view. That’s what radio interferometry does. Radio interferometry is used to observe things like stars, galaxies, and even black holes. Astronomers use it to learn more about the universe. Fun fact: Radio interferometry can help astronomers to measure the distance to objects that are more than 10 billion light years away!