Final answer:
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic wave with longer wavelengths. Radio telescopes use large dishes to focus these waves for analysis, and radio interferometry enhances detail by linking multiple telescopes electronically.
Step-by-step explanation:
A radio wave is a type of electromagnetic wave, specifically a wave with a longer wavelength than that of visible light. Electromagnetic waves are reflected by conducting surfaces, including radio waves which can be reflected by a shiny metallic surface. Radio telescopes use large concave metal reflectors, or dishes, to collect and focus these waves, directing them to a receiver for analysis. The sheer size of the radio reflector dish is crucial for resolving radio sources from space, as the longer wavelengths of radio waves compared to visible light make it challenging to obtain fine detail without a large aperture or using techniques like radio interferometry.
Radio interferometry involves linking multiple telescopes electronically to enhance resolution, allowing more detailed observations of radio emissions which are invisible in photographs taken with light. This technique is necessary since individual radio dishes, even the largest ones, cannot match the detail seen by smaller visible-light telescopes. Hence, astronomers often create pictorial representations of radio sources to interpret the data more intuitively.