无线电天文学是天文学的一个分支，通过电磁波频谱以无线电频率研究天体。无线电天文学的技术与光学相似，但是无线电望远镜因为观察的波长较长，所以更为巨大。这个领域的起源肇因于发现多数的天体不仅辐射出可见光，也发射出无线电波。

从天体而来的无线电波的初步探测是在1930年代当卡尔·央斯基观察到从银河到来的辐射。随后观察已经确定了一些不同的无线电发射源。这些包括恒星和星系，以及全新的天体种类，如电波星系，类星体，脉冲星和微波激射器。宇宙微波背景辐射的发现被视为通过射电天文学而被做出大爆炸理论的证据。

Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The initial detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was made in the 1930s, when Karl Jansky observed radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observations have identified a number of different sources of radio emission. These include stars and galaxies, as well as entirely new classes of objects, such as radio galaxies, quasars, pulsars, and masers. The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation, regarded as evidence for the Big Bang theory, was made through radio astronomy.