Briti astronoomid Jocelyn Bell ja Antony Hewish kasutasid raadioteleskoopi oma tavauuringutes, kui märkasid ootamatult tugevat regulaarset pulseerivat signaali, mis oli nii korrapärane, et ei saanud olla looduslik.
Modern radio telescopes observe a large number of frequencies all at once, with computers dividing the frequency band into as many as several thousand separate channels that may range over tens to hundreds of megahertz. This innovation has changed radio telescopes from black and white cameras to full color.