From: Peter Fairbrother <[email protected]> > > Would it be possible to 'mount' three such 8.5 meter mirrors in an >> array where they >> are millions of kilometers away from each other, and somehow combine >> their images >> and to produce and preserve the resolution of the larger diameter? It >> wouldn't multiply >> light-gathering ability, but it would increase the angular resolution >> immensely, perhaps by >> a factor of 100 million to one billion. >> I speculate that this is what is being alluded to in the article's >> reference to a 'super telescope'. >> It would not be sufficient to merely detect the images generated by each >> mirror; somehow >> it would be necessary to combine the light signals to include phase >> information. Perhaps this >> could be done by some sort of quantum process.
>As Sean said, this is both possible and done. I wasn't referring to the relatively ordinary, existing case where multiple mirrors are mounted into a single mechanical frame, perhaps includingEarth for a few hundred meters. I said, "in an array where they are millions of kilometers away from each other..." Since the diameter of the Earth is about 12,000 kilometers, and the distance from the Moonto the Earth is around 400,000 kilometers, I was referring to the individual mirrorsbeing separated by space, and not mechanically attached to each other. Presumably,they would also be moving with respect to each other, at least at a rate of a few meters per second. How this could be accomplished is well beyond me. Maybe itcould be done in 50 to 100 years. Jim Bell
