THE STELLAR INTERFEROMETER AT NARRABRI OBSERVATORY,

Abstract

Design of the instrument had the limited objective of measuring the angular sizes of all stars brighter than about apparent magnitude +2.5 accessible from the latitude of 30 degrees south. Two large reflectors are mounted on trucks which run on a circular railway track with an inside diameter of 600 feet and a gauge of 18 feet. Each reflector is controlled by a computer that calculates continuously the star's direction. To follow the star in azimuth the trucks move around the track, and to follow it in elevation the reflectors tilt about horizontal axes. In addition, the turntable carrying each reflector permits aiming directly at the star. The separation between the two reflectors can be varied from about 30 to 618 feet, and the trucks move so that this baseline remains at right angles to the star's direction.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1964
Accession Number
AD0612518

Entities

People

  • R. Hanbury Brown

Organizations

  • University of Sydney

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Buildings And Structures
  • Celestial Brightness
  • Computers
  • Diameters
  • Elevation
  • Interferometers
  • Latitude
  • Observatories
  • Reflectors
  • Research Facilities
  • Right Angles
  • Telescopes
  • Turntables

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Geodesy