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| systems used with telescopes that can compensate for distortions in an image introduced by the atmosphere, thus resulting in sharper images |
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| diameter of the primary lens or mirror of a telescope |
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| charge-coupled device (CCD) |
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| an array of high-sensitivity electronic detectors of electromagnetic radiation, used at the focus of a telescope (or camera lens) to record an image or spectrum |
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| the distortion that causes an image to appear fuzzy when each wavelength coming into a transparent material focuses at a different spot |
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| device sensitive to electromagnetic radiation that makes a record of astronomical observations |
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| magnifying lens used to view the image produced by the objective lens or primary mirror of a telescope |
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| (of a telescope) the point where the rays of light converged by a mirror or lens meet |
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| process in which waves mix together such that their crests and troughs can alternately reinforce and cancel one another |
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| an instrument that combines electromagnetic radiation from one or more telescopes to obtain a resolution equivalent to what would be obtained with a single telescope with a diameter equal to the baseline separating the individual separate telescopes |
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| combination of multiple radio dishes to, in effect, work as a large number of two-dish interferometers |
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| point in a telescope where the objective lens or primary mirror focuses the light |
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| the technique of transmitting radio waves to an object and then detecting the radiation that the object reflects back to the transmitter; used to measure the distance to, and motion of, a target object or to form images of it |
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| telescope in which the principal light collector is a concave mirror |
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| telescope in which the principal light collector is a lens or system of lenses |
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| detail in an image; specifically, the smallest angular (or linear) features that can be distinguished |
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| unsteadiness of Earth’s atmosphere, which blurs telescopic images; good seeing means the atmosphere is steady |
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| instrument for collecting visible-light or other electromagnetic radiation |
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