"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
Laury wrote:

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
| TopBanana wrote:
| On the subject a completely different technology, have there been
any
| initiatives to set up amateur telescope arrays? The proliferation
of
| broadband, telescope computer interfaces and incredibly powerful
CPU's
| for image processing could lead to some exciting results, I would
| imagine. Do you think this would be feasible?
|
| Sorry but optical telescope arrays are never going to be
realistically
| within the capabilities of amateur groups. ...

Hmmm. 'Never say "never"'. Optical arrays became possible due to the
vast increases in (not too expensive) processing power.

That is only part of the tale. Optical arrays with phase compensation
are only just marginally possible at a hard engineering level. Steel
behaves like jelly at the tolerances needed.

Even today replicating the original Michelson & Pease experiment of the
1920's is well beyond the capabilities amateurs.

In the radio bands interferoemtry is well within amateur capabilities.

My first PC had
30 Mb disk and about 0.3 megahertz cpu cycle time.

By the time PCs had 30MB hard disks the clock speed was 4.77MHz or
above, but with only tiny amounts of expensive memory fitted.

Today, 17 years
later, for about the same price as that was, I can buy one with 300
gigabyte & 1 gigahertz - 10,000 fold & 3000 fold respectively.

OK, amateur telescope arrays will not happen this week, but who knows
what will be achievable in 1000 years time.

Even the most advanced designs and composite materials are still subject
to the laws of physics. To make interferometry work in a phased array
you have to hold all relative path lengths of the optical components
constant to fraction of a wavelength.

It will never be easy or cheap to do this on Earth.
The one 'possibility', would be if a new sensor design was created, that
stored the phase/wavelength for every photon at every pixel. Nothing even
'on the horizon' that can do this simultaneously, but 'never say
never'!...

Best Wishes