The PRIMARY reason for spreading many radio telescopes across a large area and combining the signals at a central station is to:
A) produce much sharper images of radio sources.
B) ensure that cloudy weather affects only a few of the telescopes, leaving the others to continue observing.
C) avoid interference between signals from the separate telescopes.
D) collect more radiation than would be possible with the same telescopes clustered together.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spreading many radio telescopes across a large area and combining the signals at a central station helps in producing much sharper images of radio sources. This is because the process of combining signals from multiple telescopes forms a virtual telescope that is as large as the distance between the farthest telescopes. This results in better angular resolution and higher sensitivity, enabling us to obtain much more detailed and accurate information about the sources.

The PRIMARY Reason for Spreading Many Radio Telescopes Across a Large