3 ms·
I am pretty uninformed in this space, but would a swarm of smaller mirrors configured into a synthetic aperture work to make a larger scope? This could leverag
by consumer451 4y ago
I am pretty uninformed in this space, but would a swarm of smaller mirrors configured into a synthetic aperture work to make a larger scope? This could leverage mass manufacturing techniques to lower cost, be fault tolerant, etc?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture_synthesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture_synthesis
- nick478016 4y agoFor multiple individual telescopes to provide more telescope time, yes, but for multiple mirrors to act as one in the visible spectrum, it would be extremely difficult as they need to be aligned to a fraction of a wavelength. Maybe if they are mechanically attached to each other once in orbit it could work. See: ESO's Very Large Telescope, astronomical interferometers.
- cfraenkel 4y agoFor all practical purposes, the parent comment is describing at a gross level the design of the Webb : ) (not much cost savings in that direction...)