Mark III Interferometer
Abstract
These contracts involved participation in the development and testing of the Mark-III stellar interferometer at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. The instrument employs a two-color technique to reduce position errors due to atmospheric turbulence, and can operate with four possible baseline configurations ranging from 9 to 20 meters. Despite its function as a technology development platforms, it is also capable of stellar separation and stellar diameter measurements with nearly unprecedented accuracy and sensitivity. The major contributions of this work are the development of a dispersed-fringe group delay measurement system which can boost the system sensitivity by several stellar magnitudes, and the initial stages of development of an infrared capability, which should increase the future scientific interest of the facility.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 25, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA213155
Entities
People
- D. H. Staelin
- E. J. Kim
- H. R. Stuart
- J. W. Barrett
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology