An astronomical interferometer or telescope array is a set of separate
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
s, mirror segments, or
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
antenna
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
s that work together as a single telescope to provide higher resolution images of astronomical objects such as
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
s,
nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
s and
galaxies
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
by means of
interferometry
Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber opt ...
. The advantage of this technique is that it can theoretically produce images with the
angular resolution
Angular resolution describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major determinant of image resolution. ...
of a huge telescope with an
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An opt ...
equal to the separation between the component telescopes. The main drawback is that it does not collect as much light as the complete instrument's mirror. Thus it is mainly useful for fine resolution of more luminous astronomical objects, such as close
binary star
A binary star is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved using a telescope as separate stars, in wh ...
s. Another drawback is that the maximum angular size of a detectable emission source is limited by the minimum gap between detectors in the collector array.
Interferometry is most widely used in
radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...
, in which signals from separate
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
s are combined. A mathematical
signal processing
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniq ...
technique called
aperture synthesis
Aperture synthesis or synthesis imaging is a type of interferometry that mixes signals from a collection of telescopes to produce images having the same angular resolution as an instrument the size of the entire collection. At each separation an ...
is used to combine the separate signals to create high-resolution images. In
Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. The ...
(VLBI) radio telescopes separated by thousands of kilometers are combined to form a radio interferometer with a resolution which would be given by a hypothetical single dish with an aperture thousands of kilometers in diameter. At the shorter
wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
s used in
infrared astronomy
Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers, and falls in betwee ...
and
optical astronomy
Visible-light astronomy encompasses a wide variety of observations via telescopes that are sensitive in the range of visible light (optical telescopes). Visible-light astronomy is part of optical astronomy, and differs from astronomies based on in ...
it is more difficult to combine the light from separate telescopes, because the light must be kept
coherent
Coherence, coherency, or coherent may refer to the following:
Physics
* Coherence (physics), an ideal property of waves that enables stationary (i.e. temporally and spatially constant) interference
* Coherence (units of measurement), a deri ...
within a fraction of a wavelength over long optical paths, requiring very precise optics. Practical infrared and optical astronomical interferometers have only recently been developed, and are at the cutting edge of astronomical research. At optical wavelengths, aperture synthesis allows the
atmospheric seeing
In astronomy, seeing is the degradation of the image of an astronomical object due to turbulence in the atmosphere of Earth that may become visible as blurring, twinkling or variable Distortion_(optics), distortion. The origin of this effect ar ...
resolution limit to be overcome, allowing the angular resolution to reach the
diffraction limit
The resolution of an optical imaging system a microscope, telescope, or camera can be limited by factors such as imperfections in the lenses or misalignment. However, there is a principal limit to the resolution of any optical system, due to th ...
of the optics.
![Disc around the young star HD 163296](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Disc_around_the_young_star_HD_163296.jpg)
Astronomical interferometers can produce higher resolution astronomical images than any other type of telescope. At radio wavelengths, image resolutions of a few micro-
arcsecond
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...
s have been obtained, and image resolutions of a fractional milliarcsecond have been achieved at visible and infrared wavelengths.
One simple layout of an astronomical interferometer is a parabolic arrangement of mirror pieces, giving a partially complete
reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...
but with a "sparse" or "dilute" aperture. In fact the parabolic arrangement of the mirrors is not important, as long as the optical path lengths from the astronomical object to the beam combiner (focus) are the same as would be given by the complete mirror case. Instead, most existing arrays use a planar geometry, and
Labeyrie's hypertelescope will use a spherical geometry.
History
![Hooker interferometer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Hooker_interferometer.jpg)
One of the first uses of optical interferometry was applied by the
Michelson stellar interferometer
The Michelson stellar interferometer is one of the earliest astronomical interferometers built and used. The interferometer was proposed by Albert A. Michelson in 1890, following a suggestion by Hippolyte Fizeau.
The first such interferometer b ...
on the
Mount Wilson Observatory
The Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO) is an astronomical observatory in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The MWO is located on Mount Wilson, a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, northeast of Los Angeles.
The observat ...
's reflector telescope to measure the diameters of stars. The red giant star
Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-2 and one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. It is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second-brightest in the constellation of Orion ...
was the first to have its diameter determined in this way on December 13, 1920.
In the 1940s
radio interferometry was used to perform the first high resolution
radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...
observations. For the next three decades astronomical interferometry research was dominated by research at radio wavelengths, leading to the development of large instruments such as the
Very Large Array
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
and the
Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...
.
Optical/infrared interferometry was extended to measurements using separated telescopes by Johnson, Betz and Townes (1974) in the infrared and by
Labeyrie (1975) in the visible.
In the late 1970s improvements in computer processing allowed for the first "fringe-tracking" interferometer, which operates fast enough to follow the blurring effects of
astronomical seeing
In astronomy, seeing is the degradation of the image of an astronomical object due to turbulence in the atmosphere of Earth that may become visible as blurring, twinkling or variable distortion. The origin of this effect are rapidly changing v ...
, leading to the Mk I, II and III series of interferometers. Similar techniques have now been applied at other astronomical telescope arrays, including the
Keck Interferometer
The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have aperture primary mirrors, and when comp ...
and the
Palomar Testbed Interferometer
The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) was a near infrared, long-baseline stellar interferometer located at Palomar Observatory in north San Diego County, California, United States. It was built by Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and w ...
.
![Flying over the ALMA Site](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Flying_over_the_ALMA_Site.jpg)
In the 1980s the aperture synthesis interferometric imaging technique was extended to visible light and infrared astronomy by the
Cavendish Astrophysics Group
The Cavendish Astrophysics Group (formerly the Radio Astronomy Group) is based at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. The group operates all of the telescopes at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory except for the 32m MERLI ...
, providing the first very high resolution images of nearby stars.
In 1995 this technique was demonstrated on
an array of separate optical telescopes for the first time, allowing a further improvement in resolution, and allowing even higher resolutio
imaging of stellar surfaces Software packages such as BSMEM or MIRA are used to convert the measured visibility amplitudes and
closure phase
The closure phase is an observable quantity in imaging astronomical interferometry, which allowed the use of interferometry with very long baselines. It forms the basis of the self-calibration approach to interferometric imaging. The observable ...
s into astronomical images. The same techniques have now been applied at a number of other astronomical telescope arrays, including the
Navy Precision Optical Interferometer
The Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is an American astronomical interferometer, with the world's largest baselines, operated by the Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) ...
, the
Infrared Spatial Interferometer
The Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI) is an astronomical interferometer array of three telescopes operating in the mid-infrared. The telescopes are fully mobile and their current site on Mount Wilson allows for placements as far as apar ...
and the
IOTA
Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin alphabet, Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Cy ...
array. A number of other interferometers have made
closure phase
The closure phase is an observable quantity in imaging astronomical interferometry, which allowed the use of interferometry with very long baselines. It forms the basis of the self-calibration approach to interferometric imaging. The observable ...
measurements and are expected to produce their first images soon, including the
VLTI, the
CHARA array
The CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) array is an optical interferometer, located on Mount Wilson, California. The array consists of six telescopes operating as an astronomical interferometer. Construction was completed in 20 ...
an
Le Coroller and Dejonghes
Hypertelescope prototype. If completed, the
MRO Interferometer with up to ten movable telescopes will produce among the first higher fidelity images from a long baseline interferometer. The Navy Optical Interferometer took the first step in this direction in 1996, achieving 3-way synthesis of an image of
Mizar
Mizar is a second-magnitude star in the handle of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. It has the Bayer designation ζ Ursae Majoris ( Latinised as Zeta Ursae Majoris). It forms a well-known naked eye d ...
; then a first-ever six-way synthesis of
Eta Virginis
Eta Virginis (η Virginis, abbreviated Eta Vir, η Vir) is a triple star system in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. From parallax measurements taken during the Hipparcos mission it is about from the Sun. It has a combined apparent v ...
in 2002; and most recently "
closure phase
The closure phase is an observable quantity in imaging astronomical interferometry, which allowed the use of interferometry with very long baselines. It forms the basis of the self-calibration approach to interferometric imaging. The observable ...
" as a step to the first synthesized images produced by
geostationary satellites
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...
.
Modern astronomical interferometry
Astronomical interferometry is principally conducted using Michelson (and sometimes other type) interferometers. The principal operational interferometric observatories which use this type of instrumentation include
VLTI
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2 m across ...
,
NPOI, and
CHARA.
![NPOI](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/NPOI.Usic.jpg)
Current projects will use interferometers to search for
extrasolar planets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
, either by astrometric measurements of the reciprocal motion of the star (as used by the
Palomar Testbed Interferometer
The Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) was a near infrared, long-baseline stellar interferometer located at Palomar Observatory in north San Diego County, California, United States. It was built by Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and w ...
and the
VLTI), through the use of nulling (as will be used by the
Keck Interferometer
The W. M. Keck Observatory is an astronomical observatory with two telescopes at an elevation of 4,145 meters (13,600 ft) near the summit of Mauna Kea in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Both telescopes have aperture primary mirrors, and when comp ...
and
Darwin) or through direct imaging (as proposed for
Labeyrie's Hypertelescope).
Engineers at the European Southern Observatory
ESO
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based ast ...
designed the Very Large Telescope VLT so that it can also be used as an interferometer. Along with the four unit telescopes, four mobile 1.8-metre auxiliary telescopes (ATs) were included in the overall VLT concept to form the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The ATs can move between 30 different stations, and at present, the telescopes can form groups of two or three for interferometry.
When using interferometry, a complex system of mirrors brings the light from the different telescopes to the astronomical instruments where it is combined and processed. This is technically demanding as the light paths must be kept equal to within 1/1000 mm over distances of a few hundred metres. For the Unit Telescopes, this gives an equivalent mirror diameter of up to , and when combining the auxiliary telescopes, equivalent mirror diameters of up to can be achieved. This is up to 25 times better than the resolution of a single VLT unit telescope.
The VLTI gives astronomers the ability to study celestial objects in unprecedented detail. It is possible to see details on the surfaces of stars and even to study the environment close to a black hole. With a spatial resolution of 4 milliarcseconds, the VLTI has allowed astronomers to obtain one of the sharpest images ever of a star. This is equivalent to resolving the head of a screw at a distance of .
Notable 1990s results included the
Mark III measurement of diameters of 100 stars and many accurate stellar positions,
COAST
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
and
NPOI producing many very high resolution images, and
Infrared Stellar Interferometer
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...
measurements of stars in the mid-infrared for the first time. Additional results include direct measurements of the sizes of and distances to
Cepheid
A Cepheid variable () is a type of star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature and producing changes in brightness with a well-defined stable period and amplitude.
A strong direct relationship between a Cepheid varia ...
variable stars, and
young stellar objects
Young stellar object (YSO) denotes a star in its early stage of evolution. This class consists of two groups of objects: protostars and pre-main-sequence stars.
Classification by spectral energy distribution
A star forms by accumulation of mate ...
.
![ALMA Antennas on Chajnantor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/ALMA_Antennas_on_Chajnantor.jpg)
High on the Chajnantor plateau in the Chilean Andes, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), together with its international partners, is building ALMA, which will gather radiation from some of the coldest objects in the Universe. ALMA will be a single telescope of a new design, composed initially of 66 high-precision antennas and operating at wavelengths of 0.3 to 9.6 mm. Its main 12-meter array will have fifty antennas, 12 metres in diameter, acting together as a single telescope – an interferometer. An additional compact array of four 12-metre and twelve 7-meter antennas will complement this. The antennas can be spread across the desert plateau over distances from 150 metres to 16 kilometres, which will give ALMA a powerful variable "zoom". It will be able to probe the Universe at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution, with a resolution up to ten times greater than the Hubble Space Telescope, and complementing images made with the VLT interferometer.
Optical interferometers are mostly seen by astronomers as very specialized instruments, capable of a very limited range of observations. It is often said that an interferometer achieves the effect of a telescope the size of the distance between the apertures; this is only true in the limited sense of
angular resolution
Angular resolution describes the ability of any image-forming device such as an optical or radio telescope, a microscope, a camera, or an eye, to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major determinant of image resolution. ...
. The amount of light gathered—and hence the dimmest object that can be seen—depends on the real aperture size, so an interferometer would offer little improvement as the image is dim (the
thinned-array curse
The thinned-array curse (sometimes, sparse-array curse) is a theorem in electromagnetic theory of antennas. It states that a transmitting antenna which is synthesized from a coherent phased array of smaller antenna apertures that are spaced apa ...
). The combined effects of limited aperture area and atmospheric turbulence generally limits interferometers to observations of comparatively bright stars and
active galactic nuclei
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not prod ...
. However, they have proven useful for making very high precision measurements of simple stellar parameters such as size and position (
astrometry
Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way.
His ...
), for imaging the nearest
giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence, main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same effective temperature, surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moo ...
s and probing the cores of nearby
active galaxies
An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not pr ...
.
For details of individual instruments, see the
.
At radio wavelengths, interferometers such as the
Very Large Array
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
and
MERLIN
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
have been in operation for many years. The distances between telescopes are typically , although arrays with much longer baselines utilize the techniques of
Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. The ...
. In the (sub)-millimetre, existing arrays include the
Submillimeter Array and the
IRAM Plateau de Bure facility. The
Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...
has been fully operational since March 2013.
Max Tegmark
Max Erik Tegmark (born 5 May 1967) is a Swedish-American physicist, cosmologist and machine learning researcher. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the president of the Future of Life Institute. He is also a scienti ...
and
Matias Zaldarriaga
Matias Zaldarriaga is an Argentinean cosmologist.
Life
Born in Coghlan neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, at the present time he works in the Institute for Advanced Study located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. He is known especially for hi ...
have proposed the Fast Fourier Transform Telescope which would rely on extensive computer power rather than standard lenses and mirrors.
If
Moore's law
Moore's law is the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of physics, it is an empir ...
continues, such designs may become practical and cheap in a few years.
Progressing
quantum computing
Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...
might eventually allow more extensive use of interferometry, as newer proposals suggest.
See also
*
Event Horizon Telescope
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a large telescope array consisting of a global network of radio telescopes. The EHT project combines data from several very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) stations around Earth, which form a combined arr ...
(EHT) and
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a proposed space probe to detect and accurately measure gravitational waves—tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime—from astronomical sources. LISA would be the first dedicated space-based gr ...
(LISA)
*
ExoLife Finder
The ExoLife Finder Telescope (ELF) is a proposed hybrid interferometric telescope intended to directly detect and image the surface of potentially Earth-like planets.
The telescope, which was proposed by the PLANETS Foundation, consists of an a ...
, a proposed hybrid
interferometric
Interferometry is a technique which uses the ''interference'' of superimposed waves to extract information. Interferometry typically uses electromagnetic waves and is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber op ...
telescope
*
Hypertelescope
*
Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope
COAST, the Cambridge Optical Aperture Synthesis Telescope, is a multi-element optical astronomical interferometer with baselines of up to 100 metres, which uses aperture synthesis to observe stars with angular resolution as high as one thousandt ...
, an optical interferometer
*
Navy Precision Optical Interferometer
The Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) is an American astronomical interferometer, with the world's largest baselines, operated by the Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) ...
, a Michelson Optical Interferometer
*
Radio astronomy#Radio interferometry
*
Radio telescope#Radio interferometry
;List:
*
4C Array
*
Akeno Giant Air Shower Array The Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA) is a very
large surface array designed to study the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Located in the town of Akeno in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan, it covers an area of 100 km2 and consists of 111 ...
(AGASA)
*
Allen Telescope Array (ATA), formerly known as the One Hectare Telescope (1hT)
*
Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA)
*
Atacama Large Millimeter Array
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The a ...
(ALMA)
*
Australia Telescope Compact Array
The Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) is a radio telescope operated by CSIRO at the Paul Wild Observatory, twenty five kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Narrabri in New South Wales, Australia. Its opening ceremony took place on ...
*
CHARA array
The CHARA (Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy) array is an optical interferometer, located on Mount Wilson, California. The array consists of six telescopes operating as an astronomical interferometer. Construction was completed in 20 ...
*
Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array or CTA is a multinational, worldwide project to build a new generation of ground-based gamma-ray instrument in the energy range extending from some tens of GeV to about 300 TeV. It is proposed as an open observatory a ...
(CTA)
*
Chicago Air Shower Array The Chicago Air Shower Array (CASA) was a significant ultra high high-energy astrophysics experiment operating in the 1990s. It consisted of a very large array of scintillation detectors located at Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, USA, approximatel ...
(CASA)
*
Infrared Optical Telescope Array
The Infrared Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) was a stellar interferometer array. IOTA began with an agreement in 1988 among five Institutions, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, t ...
(IOTA)
*
Interplanetary Scintillation Array
The Interplanetary Scintillation Array (also known as the IPS Array or Pulsar Array) is a radio telescope that was built in 1967 at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and was operated by the Cavendish Astro ...
(IPS array) also called the Pulsar Array
*
LOFAR (LOw Frequency ARray)
*
Modular Neutron Array
The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) is a large-area, high efficiency neutron detector that is used in basic research of rare isotopes at Michigan State University's National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), a nuclear physics research facil ...
(MoNA)
*
Murchison Widefield Array
The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a joint project between an international consortium of organisations to construct and operate a low-frequency radio array. 'Widefield' refers to its very large field of view (on the order of 30 degrees ac ...
(MWA)
*
Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array
NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, also named Explorer 93 and SMEX-11) is a NASA space-based X-ray telescope that uses a conical approximation to a Wolter telescope to focus high energy X-rays from astrophysical sources, especially ...
(NuSTAR)
*
Square Kilometre Array
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKA ...
(SKA)
*
Submillimeter Array (SMA)
*
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA)
*
Telescope Array Project
The Telescope Array project is an international collaboration involving research and educational institutions in Japan, The United States, Russia, South Korea, and Belgium. The experiment is designed to observe air showers induced by ultra-high- ...
*
Very Large Array
The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
(VLA)
*
Very Long Baseline Array
The Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) is a system of ten radio telescopes which are operated remotely from their Array Operations Center located in Socorro, New Mexico, as a part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). These ten radi ...
(VLBA)
*
Very Small Array
The Very Small Array (VSA) was a 14-element interferometric radio telescope operating between 26 and 36 GHz that is used to study the cosmic microwave background radiation. It was a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Univers ...
References
Further reading
*
*
M. Ryle & D. Vonberg, 1946 Solar radiation on 175Mc/s, Nature 158 pp 339
*Govert Schilling, New Scientist, 23 February 2006 The hypertelescope: a zoom with a view
*
*
*
*
*
External links
How to combine the light from multiple telescopesfor astrometric measurements
at NPOI...Why an Optical Interferometer?
the potential and limits of astronomical interferometry
The Antoine Labeyrie's hypertelescope project's website
{{Authority control
Astronomical interferometers, *
pt:Interferômetro de Michelson