Gregory's ServerThe telescopes you see here are 3 out of our 4 Auxiliary Telescopes. Each one has a 1.8 m mirror. These telescopes work together using a technique called interferometry: by combining their light we can achieve the resolution of a "virtual" telescope as large as the separation between the individual telescopes.
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 We have four other larger telescopes called Unit Telescopes, each one with an 8.2 m mirror. These normally work as standalone telescopes, each one pointing at a different target. But we can also link them with interferometry. If you want to learn more about this technique, check out this explainer that we prepared! https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/technology/interferometry/ |
One cool thing about these Auxiliary Telescopes is that we can move them along rails! By changing the separation and orientation of these telescopes we can probe different levels of detail in the astronomical objects we study.
🎥 ESO