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Why will many of the very large telescopes of the future make use of multiple mirrors?

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Adoptive optics, in which it’s a lot easier for a computer to constantly monitor and change the shape of multiple thin mirrors than it is to use a telescope with a large thick mirror that has to thermally adjust before being able to focus sharply and even then a large mirror or lens cannot compensate for air turbulence the way telescope with computer controlled adaptive optics can.

User Jesse Dunlap
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