Abstract
The angular resolution of long-exposure optical images taken with large telescopes at the best sites is limited by atmospheric phase fluctuations to ∼0.5–1 arc s; that is, ∼10–50 times worse than the theoretical diffraction limit. In contrast, the measurement of visibilities and closure phases of fringe patterns in short-exposure images, taken through an aperture mask comprising a non-redundant array of three or more holes, offers the prospect of reliable diffraction-limited imaging using methods well established in very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) at radio wavelengths. Here we report successful first measurements of fringe visibility and closure phase by this technique, together with evidence that the method is applicable to objects as faint as magnitude 15.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Michelson, A. A. Astrophys. J. 51, 257–262 (1920).
Labeyrie, A. Astr. Astrophys. 6, 85–87 (1970).
Hanbury-Brown, R., Davis, J. & Allen, L. R. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 137, 375–392 (1967).
Roddier, C. & Roddier, F. in IAU Colloq. 49, 175–185 (1978).
Knox, K. T. & Thompson, B. J. Astrophys. J. 193, L45–L48 (1974).
Weigelt, G. & Baier, G. Astr. Astrophys. 150, L18–L20 (1985).
Pearson, T. J. & Readhead, A. C. S. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 22, 97–130 (1984).
Rogstad, D. H. Appl. Opt. 7, 585–588 (1968).
Rhodes, W. T. & Goodman, J. W. J. opt. Soc. Am. 63, 647–657 (1973).
Thompson, L. Astrophys. J. 279, L47–L49 (1984).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baldwin, J., Haniff, C., Mackay, C. et al. Closure phase in high-resolution optical imaging. Nature 320, 595–597 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320595a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320595a0
This article is cited by
-
Astrophotonics: astronomy and modern optics
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (2021)
-
Fizeau Mask Interferometry of Solar Features Using the Multi-application Solar Telescope at the Udaipur Solar Observatory
Solar Physics (2020)
-
A Neptune-sized transiting planet closely orbiting a 5–10-million-year-old star
Nature (2016)
-
Computationally efficient method for retrieval of atmospherically distorted astronomical images
Journal of Optics (2014)
-
Imaging the heart of astrophysical objects with optical long-baseline interferometry
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (2012)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
