Abstract

The National New Technology Telescope (NNTT) is a monolithic array of four 7.5-m diam telescopes which has a light-gathering power equivalent to that of a 15-m single-mirror telescope and an angular resolution, when phased, equivalent to a 21-m single-mirror telescope. I describe the telescope, its astronomical capabilities, the techniques which will be used to both coalign and cophase the array and to give a large phased field of view, and the plans to obtain diffraction-limited imaging at optical and infrared wavelengths. The design of the NNTT is based on the experience gained with the six-mirror Multiple Mirror Telescope which served as a prototype. The coalignment/cophasing/field of view and imaging methods planned for the NNTT apply to any close-packed array of telescopes.

© 1986 Optical Society of America