Other
Scientific paper
Jun 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995spie.2477..167r&link_type=abstract
Proc. SPIE Vol. 2477, p. 167-187, Spaceborne Interferometry II, Robert D. Reasenberg; Ed.
Other
3
Scientific paper
POINTS comprises a pair of independent Michelson stellar interferometers and a laser metrology system that measures both the critical starlight paths and the angle between the two baselines. The nominal design has baselines of 2 m, subapertures of 35 cm, and a single- measurement accuracy of 5 microarcseconds for targets separated by approximately equals 90 degree(s). In a five-year mission, POINTS could yield, e.g., a 1% Cepheid distance scale, galactic mass distribution, knowledge of cluster dynamics, and stellar masses and luminosities. In a ten-year mission, POINTS could perform a deep search for other planetary systems, using only 20% of the available observing time. POINTS does global astrometry, i.e., it measures widely separated targets, which yields closure calibration, numerous bright reference stars, and absolute parallax. The instrument has only three moving-part mechanisms, and only one of these must move with sub-milliradian accuracy. On each side of the interferometer, there are only three (interferometrically critical) optical surfaces preceding the beamsplitter or its fold flat. POINTS is small, agile, and mechanically simple. It would prove much of the technology for future imaging interferometers.
Babcock Robert W.
Murison Marc Allen
Noecker Martin Charles
Phillips James D.
Reasenberg Robert D.
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