The Infrared Spatial Interferometer (ISI) is an
astronomical interferometer
An astronomical interferometer or telescope array is a set of separate telescopes, mirror segments, or radio telescope antenna (radio), antennas that work together as a single telescope to provide higher resolution images of astronomical objects ...
array of three telescopes operating in the mid-
infrared. The telescopes are fully mobile and their current site on
Mount Wilson allows for placements as far as apart, giving the resolution of a telescope of that diameter. The signals are converted to radio frequencies through
heterodyne circuits and then combined electronically using techniques copied from
radio astronomy. ISI is run by the
University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. The longest () baseline provides a resolution of 0.003
arcsecond
A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...
at a
wavelength of 11
micrometres. On 9 July 2003, ISI recorded the first
closure phase aperture synthesis measurements in the mid infrared.
References
{{Portal, Spaceflight
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20071215183003/http://isi.ssl.berkeley.edu/
Infrared telescopes
Interferometric telescopes