AN OPTICAL INTERFEROMETER FOR DIRECTION MEASUREMENT,

Abstract

The basic principles of direction measurement using interferometric techniques, and the applications of these techniques to space velocity measurements are discussed. A type of interferometer capable of accomplishing such a measurement is proposed and a basic sensitivity is calculated and compared to the sensitivity obtainable with conventional telescope techniques. It is concluded that an interferometer can be built having a sensitivity of .01 sec of arc or better. However, except for very high sensitivities (>> .01 sec) there is little to recommend the interferometer over the telescope. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 08, 1961
Accession Number
AD0681769

Entities

People

  • R. A. Thiel

Organizations

  • General Dynamics

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Instrumentation
  • Interferometers
  • Measurement
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Optical Interferometers
  • Sensitivity
  • Telescopes

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Geodesy
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.

Technology Areas

  • Space