Star resolution

I'm not sure that I know enough to ask this question but I'd like to try.

When viewing stars through an optical telescope is it possible to see
any of the star's structure or do I just see the effect of a
zero-dimension spot that is in effect "testing" the telescope? Am I
just viewing the telescope (and the atmospheric path's) combined point
spread function?

Thanks,
Boden

You're correct. You can't see a star's structure with the naked eye
and a telescope. Need at least an interferometer.

Saul Levy


On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:57:33 -0400, boden wrote:

I'm not sure that I know enough to ask this question but I'd like to try.

When viewing stars through an optical telescope is it possible to see
any of the star's structure or do I just see the effect of a
zero-dimension spot that is in effect "testing" the telescope? Am I
just viewing the telescope (and the atmospheric path's) combined point
spread function?

Thanks,
Boden

Even some of the biggest scopes on earth only see stars as points of light.
You'd have to be near a star system to see details of a star.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
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http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net



"boden" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure that I know enough to ask this question but I'd like to try.

When viewing stars through an optical telescope is it possible to see any
of the star's structure or do I just see the effect of a zero-dimension
spot that is in effect "testing" the telescope? Am I just viewing the
telescope (and the atmospheric path's) combined point spread function?

Thanks,
Boden

boden wrote in :

I'm not sure that I know enough to ask this question but I'd like to try.

When viewing stars through an optical telescope is it possible to see
any of the star's structure or do I just see the effect of a
zero-dimension spot that is in effect "testing" the telescope? Am I
just viewing the telescope (and the atmospheric path's) combined point
spread function?

Thanks,
Boden



The large telescopes like Keck and can theoretically resolve a few of the
relatively nearby red giants as actual disks. In practice however the
Earth's atmosphere makes this difficult. It was first done using a process
called speckle interferometry which allows atmospheric effects to be
partially filtered out. The Hubble Space Telescope doesn't have to contend
with the Earth's atmosphere and has been used to image the disk of the red
giant Alpha Orionis otherwise known as Betelgeuse.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/new...eases/1996/04/

Klazmon.