Observing Molecules With Radio Telescopes

This book serves as a practical handbook for observing molecules in space using radio astronomy. It begins with an accessible discussion of the underlying physics and (quantum) chemistry of how molecular signals are generated. It then turns to discussions of how those signals are measured with radio astronomy, followed by detailed, practical examples of how to predict the molecular signals an observation will detect and how to design observations and proposals based on those predictions. This includes descriptions of how spectra are measured in the laboratory, disseminated in the literature, and made available in databases and how to access and extract information from these sources. The book then turns to analyzing the observations, and how to extract information on the molecule and physical conditions. The tone is conversational and approachable, minimizing jargon whenever possible.