Introduction to Radio Astronomy and Interferometry Introduction to Radio Astronomy and Interferometry For more information on each of the sentences below, click on the text of the sentence. For more information on all the sentences click here.
Radio astronomy uses radio waves to study regions of space.
Single-dish radio telescopes produce blurry images. Interferometry is a technique used to overcome the blurring and produce sharper radio images. The spacing between the radio telescope dishes in an interferometer determines the size of the objects that can be resolved by the interferometer. Using many dishes together in an interferometer array allows astronomers to form more complete images of objects. This is how an aperture synthesis telescope such as the Australia Telescope Compact Array works.