Re: How about that Mars

Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:01:24 -0700, Quadibloc <jsavard@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

A Celestron NexStar GPS; it happened to be what someone had for sale
that week used in the Bargain Finder. I think I'll manage to fully
program its GO TO system on my next attempt, and then use "lucky
imaging" to defy the laws of optics.

I know your comment is tongue-in-cheek. All the same, it is interesting
to note that what lucky imaging allows you to do is actually achieve the
capabilities that the laws of optics provide for- namely, diffraction
limited imaging.


Well, not really. When one deconvolutes, one is taking the average of
many photons, so Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is not
contradicted.

Well, yes. But deconvolution is unrelated to lucky imaging.

Also, the technique usually only involves sharpening rather than
rigorous deconvolution.

If one uses a small enough telescope that it often will be looking
through a single "cell" or "pocket" of air, one avoids having to use
adaptive optics in real time, and can use lucky imaging.

If the air in that cell happens to be steady enough to support an
image with the diffraction-limited resolution of a larger aperture,
then really good images that can be deconvoluted can be obtained. To
see if one has such images, one has to deconvolute first, and average
afterwards. (Deconvolution, of course, increases the noise level
badly, so all the photons one can get are welcomed!)

Diffraction may not be the limit.

John Savard

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