UK Upgrades Radio Telescope Network

armacc writes "From the BBC, work has started to use optical fibres to link up the giant radio telescope at Jodrell Bank with five others that are scattered across England. The telescopes comprise an array called Merlin that combines the data from each so they perform as a larger telescope. The telescopes are currently linked by microwaves but replacing them with optical fibres will be a revolution. Astronomers say the new project, e-Merlin, will be a great leap in Jodrell Bank's ability to look out into space."

Comments

Re:Current and future telescopes.

[R.Caley]

Unless they are linking thousands of telescopes, they are getting one *hell* of a lot larger boost in resolution than they are in light-gathering power by linking telescopes.

If this was themlinking the telescopes up for the first time you'd have a pont, but they already have the resolution, they already to interferrometry on the array. They aren't, so far as I can see, adding extra, further away, telescopes to the array which is what would be needed for better resolution.