Adaptive optics for robotic telescopes
Abstract
Adaptive optics is a technology which compensates dynamical optical aberrations in an astronomical telescope. The technique has matured during the past decade and exists today at any large observatory. Adaptive optics improve the spatial resolution, ideally to the diffraction limit, and concentrate the source's flux, increasing the sensitivity. Both properties can be relevant to science programs with robotic telescopes. The hardware for adaptive optics becomes more readily available at lower costs, and there are many research groups working on their development. We review the current status of adaptive optics and discuss its relevance to robotic telescopes.
- Publication:
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Astronomische Nachrichten
- Pub Date:
- October 2004
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2004AN....325..613V
- Keywords:
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- instrumentation: adaptive optics;
- telescopes: robotic