AST-072beginner

Adaptive Optics & Interferometry: Structures & Vocabulary

Adaptive optics and interferometry are two different techniques for improving angular detail. Adaptive optics is powerful for near-infrared and visible ground-based imaging of compact targets, while interferometry enables extremely high-resolution radio, millimeter, and selected optical observations.

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Adaptive Optics & Interferometry: Structures & Vocabulary

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AST-071Adaptive Optics & Interferometry: Foundations→

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AST-073Adaptive Optics & Interferometry: Physical Mechanisms→

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Adaptive optics and interferometry are two different techniques for improving angular detail.

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Adaptive optics measures wavefront errors many times per second and reshapes a mirror to apply the opposite distortion.

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Corrected images show narrower point-spread functions and higher Strehl ratios than uncorrected images.