I learned in October 2022’s Breakthrough that the spikes of stars in high-power photos are called diffraction spikes. Why do they appear as two crosses at 45 degrees to each other? Graham SmithWerribee, Australia The diffraction spikes so familiar to us in space images are an intrinsic property of the telescope. Reflecting telescopes have twoContinue reading “Ask Astro: What causes the pattern of diffraction spikes in astronomical images?”
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