Article
Article
Astronomical imaging
Article By:
Chromey, Frederick R. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.
Last reviewed:October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.801390
The production of a permanent two-dimensional record of a scene of interest to astronomy. In direct imaging, the scene is a section of the sky optically imaged with a telescope. In other types of imaging, the scene is the output of an instrument, often a spectroscope. Although astronomical images can be produced using light from any part of the electromagnetic spectrum, this article mainly concerns images made in the optical and near-infrared regions (wavelengths of 320–1000 nanometers). The overriding concerns in astronomical imaging are resolution, wavelength sensitivity, and above all, detective quantum efficiency.
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