Distributed aperture telescopes and the Dragonfly Telephoto Array

Abstract

Telescope arrays allow high-performance wide-field imaging systems to be built more quickly and at lower cost than conventional telescopes. Distributed aperture telescopes (the premier example of which is the Dragonfly Telephoto Array) are a special type of array in which all telescopes point at roughly the same position in the sky. In this configuration the array performs like a large and optically very fast single telescope with unusually good control over systematic errors. In a few key areas, such as low surface brightness imaging over wide fields of view, distributed aperture telescopes outperform conventional survey telescopes by a wide margin. In these Proceedings we outline the rationale for distributed aperture telescopes, and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the concept. Areas of observational parameter space in which the design excels are identified. These correspond to areas of astrophysics that are both relatively unexplored and which have unusually strong breakthrough potential.