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CONSTRAINTS OF GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS: THE ATMOSPHERE

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Optics in Astrophysics

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry ((NAII,volume 198))

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Abstract

This is a tutorial about the main optical properties of the Earth atmosphere as it affects incoming radiation from astrophysical sources. Turbulence is a random process, of which statitical moments are described relying on the Kolmogorov model. The phase structure function and the Fried parameter r0 are introduced. Analytical expressions of the degradation of the optical transfer function due to the turbulence, and the resulting Strehl ratio and anisoplanatism are derived.

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© 2006 Springer

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Paterson, C. (2006). CONSTRAINTS OF GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS: THE ATMOSPHERE. In: Foy, R., Foy, F. (eds) Optics in Astrophysics. NATO Science Series II: Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, vol 198. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3437-7_01

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