Exploring the Cosmic Frontier

Abstract

The present article attempts to address the question of the role of optical and infrared interferometry in the era of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). A strawman concept for an Extremely Large Synthesis Array (ELSA) could consist of 27 ten-meter telescopes and baselines of up to 10km [1] (see also Tab. 1). It appears that ELSA could be built today with existing technologies, but the cost would probably be prohibitively high. A technology roadmap for ELSA must therefore provide solutions that are not only technically feasible, but also affordable. In this context it will be interesting to explore to which extent costreduction approaches that are being investigated for the design and construction of large monolithic telescopes - such as the OWL concept - can also be applied to ELSA. © Springer 2007.