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Questions tagged [interferometry]

Questions about astronomical observations which involve superimposing waves received by multiple, physically separated, receivers to obtain higher angular resolution.

2 votes
1 answer
83 views

Do we have the technology to create a satellite telescope constellation that uses interferometry?

Apologies for putting the bulk of the question in the description. I'm honestly not sure how to ask this properly. The idea for this question came from a Vsauce video from several year ago I can't ...
3 votes
3 answers
367 views

About angular diameter, parallax and image of the nearest neutron star RX J185635-3754

I have a big doubt about our allegedly nearest (X Ray isolated) neutron star, also known as the Walter star, one of the members of the "Magnificent Seven stars": RX J185635-3754. So I came ...
2 votes
0 answers
64 views

Angular diameter and length of baseline

How did they determine the angular diameter, please? How to predict the baseline length with the first lobe? Thank you. https://www.chara.gsu.edu/public/basics-of-interferometry If they are ...
2 votes
2 answers
103 views

Could we hear alien radio transmissions using radio interferometry?

Suppose money and engineering wasn't a concern. Could we actually build a bunch of radio telescopes in space, and use radio interferometry, so that we could actually hear the sort of radio ...
3 votes
1 answer
146 views

Telling bounces in LIGO interferometer

How do they know the number of times the laser bounces back and forth, in the 4 km arms of the interferometer, before the laser light is picked out to the reading sensor? See under “The Longer The ...
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

W in the brightness distribution

What is W in the brightness (intensity) distribution, please? Alpha is the position of the star; lambda, the wavelength; t, the time; P, the polarization. Thank you
1 vote
1 answer
302 views

Can the interferometer called "Gravity" measure "a few centimeters on the Moon"?

Phys.org's Very Large Telescope sees star dance around supermassive black hole, proves Einstein right links to several ESO videos, including Interview with Reinhard Genzel (in English). After ...
22 votes
1 answer
594 views

Multi-messenger astronomy: what is the potential of simultaneous detection of gravitational waves and neutrinos from a supernova?

Thanks to the efforts of the aLIGO team, gravitational wave astronomy is a reality. At the same time, neutrino detectors like Hyperkamiokande are becoming much more sensitive. My question is: what ...
1 vote
1 answer
57 views

Giant variation of the proposed eLISA mission using reflectors on Earth and the Moon possible?

I was thinking about the proposed ESA mission eLISA, which is essentially a space version of the LIGO experiment, and it occurred to me that trailing three satellites behind the Earth's orbit seemed ...
2 votes
1 answer
72 views

Squared visibility in astronomy

Why is preffered to use squared visibility instead of visibility in long-baseline interferometry, please?
13 votes
2 answers
256 views

Why hasn't VLBI been used to try and image giant exoplanets?

A Jupiter-sized object at 10 pc subtends an angle of 0.0001 arcseconds (100 micro-arcsec) at the Earth. The Event Horizon Telescope interferometry network is capable of a (demonstrated) angular ...
1 vote
3 answers
136 views

How does Very Long Baseline Interferometry work?

According to internet sources, this technique increases the effective diameter of the telescope, thus improving the angular resolution of the telescope. However I don't understand how this actually ...
11 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can the Hubble constant be measured directly?

By my calculations, the expansion of the universe should cause LIGO’s interferometers to alternate between constructive interference and destructive interference every couple days. Is this a practical ...
3 votes
0 answers
79 views

Mega Telescope using gravitational lensing and interferometry

I have been thinking about this crazy telescope idea, but I am not smart enough to understand if it's technically possible. I understand from an engineering and practical point of view it's a long way ...
6 votes
1 answer
156 views

Reference request (explaining) how optical correlators combine light from multiple telescopes to produce ultra-high resolution interferometric images?

This is a reference or resource-request because it may be too challenging to explain in an answer post, but if you'd like to attempt a short summary as well, that will be great! I have a basic ...

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