Open AccessThe Sydney University Stellar Interferometer ‐‐ I. The instrument
Author(s) -
Davis J.,
Tango W. J.,
Booth A. J.,
Brummelaar T. A. ten,
Minard R. A.,
Owens S. M.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02269.x
Subject(s) - physics , interferometry , wavefront , tilt (camera) , astronomical interferometer , range (aeronautics) , baseline (sea) , optics , signal (programming language) , remote sensing , astronomy , astrophysics , aerospace engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , oceanography , geology , engineering , programming language
The Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) is a new long‐baseline optical interferometer located in northern New South Wales, Australia. SUSI has been developed to tackle a range of problems in stellar astrophysics, and its design is based on a successful prototype instrument. In its initial configuration, observations are made with a single baseline selected from an array of fixed north‐‐south baselines covering the range from 5 to 640 m. Small apertures, wavefront‐tilt correction and rapid signal sampling are employed to overcome the effects of atmospheric turbulence, and optical path equality is maintained by a dynamic optical delay line. The planned astrophysical programmes, the resulting design criteria, the instrument and its current status are described.