Interferometry — MCQs August 20, 2025 by u930973931_answers 50 Score: 0 Attempted: 0/50 Subscribe 1. What is the primary goal of interferometry in astronomy? (A) To reduce telescope costs (B) To improve angular resolution (C) To detect exoplanets only (D) To reduce atmospheric turbulence 2. Interferometry works on the principle of: (A) Reflection (B) Refraction (C) Interference of light waves (D) Diffraction 3. The effective resolution of an interferometer is mainly determined by: (A) Telescope aperture (B) Baseline length (C) Detector sensitivity (D) Observatory altitude 4. Which famous experiment used an interferometer to detect the motion of Earth through ether? (A) Hubble’s experiment (B) Michelson-Morley experiment (C) Cavendish experiment (D) Rutherford experiment 5. Which interferometer first measured the diameter of stars? (A) Fabry–Pérot interferometer (B) Michelson interferometer (C) Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer (D) Sagnac interferometer 6. In radio astronomy, interferometry is used because: (A) Radio telescopes are cheap (B) Radio waves have long wavelengths (C) Radio telescopes are small (D) It reduces noise 7. The VLA (Very Large Array) in New Mexico is an example of a: (A) Radio interferometer (B) Optical interferometer (C) X-ray interferometer (D) Infrared interferometer 8. Which interferometer detected gravitational waves? (A) VLBI (B) ALMA (C) LIGO (D) Keck 9. The angular resolution of an interferometer is approximately: (A) λ/D (B) λ/B (C) B/λ (D) D × λ 10. Which method combines signals from widely separated radio telescopes? (A) Aperture synthesis (B) Adaptive optics (C) Spectroscopy (D) Photometry 11. The ALMA array is located in: (A) Hawaii (B) Chile (C) India (D) Australia 12. VLBI stands for: (A) Very Low Baseline Interferometry (B) Very Long Baseline Interferometry (C) Variable Length Baseline Interferometry (D) Virtual Large Baseline Interferometry 13. Interferometry improves resolution but not: (A) Angular precision (B) Detail of objects (C) Light-gathering power (D) Image sharpness 14. Optical interferometers are most commonly used to study: (A) Galaxy clusters (B) Stellar diameters (C) Planetary atmospheres (D) Dark matter 15. The technique of combining signals from multiple telescopes is called: (A) Image stacking (B) Aperture synthesis (C) Wave amplification (D) Beam splitting 16. Which interferometer design uses two beam splitters and mirrors? (A) Fabry–Pérot (B) Sagnac (C) Michelson (D) Twyman-Green 17. The radio interferometer that provides Earth-sized resolution is: (A) VLA (B) ALMA (C) VLBI (D) SKA 18. Which interferometer uses twin detectors located in the USA for gravitational waves? (A) ALMA (B) LIGO (C) VLA (D) SKA 19. Interferometers can measure: (A) Stellar diameters (B) Surface structures of stars (C) Exoplanet transits (D) All of the above 20. A larger baseline in interferometry results in: (A) Higher sensitivity (B) Higher angular resolution (C) Lower resolution (D) Reduced data 21. The SKA (Square Kilometre Array) will be the world’s largest: (A) Optical telescope (B) Infrared telescope (C) Radio interferometer (D) X-ray interferometer 22. Which interferometer principle is used in fiber optics for telecommunications? (A) Fabry–Pérot (B) Michelson (C) Mach–Zehnder (D) Sagnac 23. The main limitation of interferometry is: (A) Resolution (B) Sensitivity to weak signals (C) Telescope size (D) Baseline expansion 24. Which interferometer type measures the refractive index of thin films? (A) Fabry–Pérot (B) Sagnac (C) Mach–Zehnder (D) Twyman-Green 25. The technique of combining multiple interferometer signals electronically is: (A) Beamforming (B) Aperture synthesis (C) Adaptive filtering (D) Coherent addition 26. The delay applied to radio telescope signals before combining is called: (A) Phase correction (B) Time lagging (C) Path delay compensation (D) Coherence adjustment 27. The first stellar diameter measured using an interferometer was: (A) Sirius (B) Betelgeuse (C) Alpha Centauri (D) Rigel 28. The interferometer used to test special relativity is: (A) LIGO (B) Michelson–Morley (C) VLBI (D) VLA 29. A radio interferometer works by: (A) Multiplying signals (B) Correlating signals (C) Dividing signals (D) Reflecting signals 30. Which interferometer principle is used in GPS systems? (A) Sagnac effect (B) Michelson interference (C) Fabry–Pérot resonance (D) Mach–Zehnder effect 31. The main advantage of radio interferometers over optical ones is: (A) They work at shorter wavelengths (B) They can operate day and night (C) They collect more photons (D) They are less expensive 32. The Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer is used for: (A) Measuring stellar diameters (B) Detecting exoplanets (C) Measuring cosmic microwave background (D) Measuring galactic redshift 33. What is the main output of an interferometer? (A) Spectrum (B) Light curve (C) Interference fringes (D) Images directly 34. Interferometric fringes are produced due to: (A) Constructive and destructive interference (B) Polarization (C) Reflection (D) Refraction 35. Which interferometer technique was crucial for Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)? (A) Aperture synthesis (B) Adaptive optics (C) Wave amplification (D) Beam splitting 36. The Event Horizon Telescope achieved resolution by using: (A) A single huge dish (B) Space-based optical interferometry (C) VLBI with global radio telescopes (D) A Michelson interferometer 37. Interferometry in space is advantageous because: (A) Larger baselines possible (B) No atmospheric turbulence (C) Easier synchronization (D) All of the above 38. The technique of removing atmospheric distortion in interferometry is: (A) Photometry (B) Adaptive optics (C) Beamforming (D) Refraction correction 39. Which interferometer measured Earth’s rotation through light interference? (A) Sagnac interferometer (B) Michelson interferometer (C) Fabry–Pérot interferometer (D) Mach–Zehnder interferometer 40. The main challenge of interferometry is: (A) Aligning telescopes (B) Combining signals coherently (C) Maintaining phase stability (D) All of the above 41. Radio interferometers typically work in which frequency range? (A) Terahertz (B) Microwave (C) Visible (D) Ultraviolet 42. Optical interferometry requires: (A) Laser coherence (B) Atmospheric correction (C) High precision mirrors (D) All of the above 43. Which interferometer is essential for quantum optics experiments? (A) Mach–Zehnder (B) Fabry–Pérot (C) Michelson (D) Sagnac 44. The EHT used interferometry to image: (A) Saturn’s rings (B) Andromeda galaxy (C) Black hole in M87 (D) Jupiter’s moons 45. Radio interferometers are often built in: (A) Valleys (B) High plateaus (C) Urban centers (D) Coastal regions 46. The path difference in an interferometer determines: (A) Brightness (B) Fringe position (C) Telescope size (D) Baseline length 47. A space-based interferometer mission concept was: (A) LISA (B) ALMA (C) SKA (D) EHT 48. Interferometers can also be used in: (A) Seismology (B) Metrology (C) Engineering (D) All of the above 49. Which interferometer type is commonly used in spectroscopy? (A) Michelson (B) Fabry–Pérot (C) Mach–Zehnder (D) Sagnac 50. The ultimate resolution limit of interferometry is determined by: (A) Signal-to-noise ratio (B) Wavelength and baseline (C) Telescope mirror size (D) Atmospheric distortion