Astronomers today are pushing existing optical telescopes to their limits: Better optical coatings, sophisticated microelectronics and computer control, and detector quantum efficiencies approaching unity make it possible to wring nearly the last photon of light‐gathering capacity from present instruments. To improve optical telescopes still further, it appears, one must produce larger‐aperture primaries.
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© 1978 American Institute of Physics.
1978
American Institute of Physics
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