Why don't astronomers make optical array telescopes like they do with radio telescopes to sharpen their resolving power?

Because the tolerances for time keeping and getting the 'phases' to match up are about 1 million times more severe at the shorter optical wavelengths than at radio wavelengths. Also, because the wavelengths are also shorter by about 1 million times, maintaining a fraction of a wavelength tolerance in the spacing of the optical wave front receivers becomes a daunting technological challenge. Astronomers have only now begun to build instruments and 'optical arrays' a few dozen meters across. Compare this to the 27 kilometer 'Very Large Array' radio telescope built in the 1970's.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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