100 m virtual telescope captures unique detailed colour image

Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 05:35 in Astronomy & Space

'This is one of the first images made using near-infrared interferometry,' says lead author Jean-Baptiste Le Bouquin. Interferometry is a technique that combines the light from several telescopes, resulting in a vision as sharp as that of a giant telescope with a diameter equal to the largest separation between the telescopes used. Achieving this requires the VLTI system components to be positioned to an accuracy of a fraction of a micrometre over about 100 metres and maintained so throughout the observations - a formidable technical challenge...

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