aperture synthesis

The angular resolution, or ability of a radio telescope to distinguish fine detail in the sky, depends on the wavelength of observations divided by the size of the instrument. Yet even the largest antennas, when used at their shortest operating wavelength, have an…

…Ryle developed a technique called aperture synthesis. By using two radio telescopes and changing the distance between them, he obtained data that, upon computer analysis, provided tremendously increased resolving power. In the mid-1960s Ryle put into operation two telescopes on rails that at the maximum distance of 1.6 km (1…