The construction of the Interplanetary Scintillation Array at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in 1967 provided the instrumental foundation for the identification of the first pulsar. Antony Hewish, who proposed this large phased array radio telescope, secured the necessary funding to build the structure, enabling a high-resolution survey that fundamentally altered the field of radio astronomy.
Early Education and War Service
Born in Fowey in 1924, Hewish attended King's College in Taunton. His undergraduate studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, faced disruption due to the Second World War. During this conflict, he performed war service at the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Telecommunications Research Establishment, where he first collaborated with Martin Ryle. He returned to Cambridge in 1946 to complete his degree and joined Ryle’s research team at the Cavendish Laboratory, earning his PhD in 1952.
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Hewish pioneered practical and theoretical advancements in observing radio source scintillations caused by foreground plasma. His 1965 design for the Interplanetary Scintillation Array was built under his leadership at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. While analyzing the output of this array, graduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell detected a constant signal at a specific right ascension. Hewish initially suspected radio frequency interference, but the signal’s stability confirmed its extraterrestrial origin. This discovery resulted in a multi-authored paper, with Hewish listed as the primary investigator.
Nobel Recognition and Academic Career
In 1974, Hewish shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Martin Ryle for their contributions to radio aperture synthesis and the discovery of pulsars. His academic tenure included serving as a professor of radio astronomy at the Cavendish Laboratory from 1971 to 1989 and head of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory from 1982 to 1988. He held a fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge, and maintained active memberships in several scientific organizations, including the Royal Society, the Indian National Science Academy, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Philosophy of Science
Hewish maintained that science and religious belief occupied complementary domains. In his written reflections on the intersection of faith and physical inquiry, he observed that the behavior of fundamental physical components, such as virtual particles, often defies common-sense understanding. He suggested that if elementary physics operates beyond intuitive logic, human inquiry should remain open to the possibility that deeper aspects of existence similarly transcend simple interpretations.
Fast facts
- Born: 1924, Fowey
- Died: 13 September 2021
- Education: King's College, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
- Nobel Prize in Physics: 1974
- Eddington Medal: 1969
- Hughes Medal: 1977
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Professorships: Cavendish Laboratory, Royal Institution
Questions readers ask
Did Antony Hewish discover pulsars alone?
No, the discovery was made using an array Hewish designed and led, with analysis performed by his student Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
What was the scientific significance of his 1952 thesis?
It provided foundational work on the observation and exploitation of scintillations of astronomical radio sources caused by foreground plasma.
