Radio sources - Very, Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Abstract
With resolution of a thousandth of an arcsecond, the radio technique of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) provides astronomers with their highest-resolution view of the universe. Data taken with widely-separated antennas are combined, with the help of atomic clocks, to form a Michelson interferometer whose size may be as great as the earth's diameter. Extraordinary phenomena, from the birth of stars as signaled by the brilliant flashes of powerful interstellar masers to the 'faster-than-light' expansion of the cores of distant quasars, are being explored with this technique. However, earth-bound VLBI suffers from several restrictions due to the location of the component antennas at fixed places on the earth's surface. The use of one or more antennas in space in concert with ground-based equipment will greatly expand the technical and scientific capabilities of VLBI, leading to a more complete and even higher resolution view of cosmic phenomena.
- Publication:
-
American Astronautical Society
- Pub Date:
- March 1983
- Bibcode:
- 1983aans.sympQ..25R
- Keywords:
-
- Radio Astronomy;
- Radio Sources (Astronomy);
- Very Long Base Interferometry;
- Angular Resolution;
- Ground Stations;
- Radio Antennas;
- Radio Telescopes;
- Spaceborne Telescopes;
- Astronomy