Radio Interferometric Test of the General Relativistic Light Bending Near the Sun
D. O. MuhlemanOwens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109R. D. EkersOwens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109E. B. FomalontOwens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109
1970en
ABI
Abstract
We have used radio interferometry to measure the deflection of a radio source as it passed the sun. This deflection is a separable combination of refraction in the coronal electron plasma and the general relativistic effect. The observed deflection was ${1.04}_{\ensuremath{-}0.10}^{+0.15}$ times that predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. The observation also yielded a reasonable value for the coronal electron density.
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