The quest for higher angular resolution in astronomy will inevitably require the telescope with large aperture. However, the diameter of primary mirror is limited by the fabrication problems as well as the scaling laws of manufacturing costs. Optical synthetic aperture telescopes represent a promising new technology to overcome the above-mentioned problems. Three incoherent imaging techniques based on optical synthetic aperture including Fourier telescopy, Michelson interferometer and Fizeau interferometer are described in the paper. Fourier telescopy is an active imaging technique combined with the advantages of synthetic aperture measurement. Michelson interferometers measure spatial Fourier transform of objects, while Fizeau interferometers produce direct images with full instant frequency coverage. We give an overview of the basic aspects and the differences of these techniques.

Date Published: 21 November 2007
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 6721, 3rd International Symposium on Advanced Optical Manufacturing and Testing Technologies: Large Mirrors and Telescopes, 672103 (21 November 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.782677

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6721:
3rd International Symposium on Advanced Optical Manufacturing and Testing Technologies: Large Mirrors and Telescopes
Yudong Zhang; Wenhan Jiang; Myung K. Cho, Editor(s)