When I first learned about the use of arrays of radio telescopes that were networked together to improve resolution, I started thinking about how neat it would be if we could do that for optical telescopes. An array of small scopes would behave like one very large scope, for a fraction of the cost.
The Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer consists of six mirrors which combine their inputs to mimic a single 437 meter (1433 feet) telescope.
A simple calculation shows that a telescope of this diameter has an angular resolution of some 8E-8 degrees, or 1/3400 of an arc-second.
You could make out an object one meter in size at a distance of 445,000 miles. An object one centimeter in size (about the resolution you need to read a large headline) could be resolved at 4450 miles.
The same technique could be adapted to larger arrays, possibly even arrays orbiting the Earth.
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