The Infrared Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) began with an agreement in 1988 among five Institutions, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Wyoming, and MIT/Lincoln Laboratory, to build a two-telescope stellar interferometer for the purpose of making fundamental astrophysical observations, and also as a prototype instrument on which we could perfect techniques which could later lead to the development of a larger, more powerful array. On site construction went on for all 1993 and 1994, with first fringes in December 1993. Jump to: navigation, search 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it is joined with the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) to form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... The University of Massachusetts (commonly referred to as UMass) is the five-campus public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. ... Disc golf players on the campus of the University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming,USA, first opened in September, 1887. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is a world leader in science and technology, as well as in many other fields, including management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... MIT Lincoln Laboratory, also known as Lincoln Lab, is a federally funded research and development center managed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the United States Department of Defense. ... Interferometry is the applied science of combining two or more input points of a particular data type, such as optical measurements, to form a greater picture based on the combination of the two sources. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

In 2000 the third telescope came online providing closure phase observations, allowing aperture synthesis to be performed for the first time at IOTA. The closure phase is an observable quantity in imaging interferometry, which allowed the use of interferometry with very long baselines. ... Aperture synthesis is a type of interferometry that mixes signals from a collection instruments to produce measurements having the same angular resolution as an instrument the size of the entire collection. ...

Related Pages

• List_of_astronomical_interferometers_at_visible_and_infrared_wavelengths

Current Performance of Ground-Based Interferometers Here is a list of currently existing astronomical interferometers, and some parameters describing their performance. ...

External Links

Infrared and Optical Telescope Array (IOTA) on the internet