Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer
The Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer (NSII) was the first astronomical instrument to measure the diameters of a large number of stars at visible wavelengths. It was designed by (amongst others) Robert Hanbury Brown, who received the Hughes Medal in 1971 for this work. It was built by University of Sydney School of Physics and was located near the town of Narrabri in north-central New South Wales, Australia.
Also recorded as NSII
Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer
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- Australia
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The Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer (NSII) was the first astronomical instrument to measure the diameters of a large number of stars at visible wavelengths. It was designed by (amongst others) Robert Hanbury Brown, who received the Hughes Medal in 1971 for this work. It was built by University of Sydney School of Physics and was located near the town of Narrabri in north-central New South Wales, Australia.
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wikidata · Q6966156 · wikipedia · Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer
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Overview
Overview
Many of the components were constructed in the UK. The design was based on an earlier optical intensity interferometer built by Hanbury Brown and Richard Q. Twiss at Jodrell Bank in the UK. Whilst the original device had a maximum baseline of 10m, the NSII device consisted of a large circular track that allowed the detectors to be separated from 10 to 188m. The NSII operated from 1963 until 1974, and was used to measure the angular diameters of 32 stars.
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- Australia
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reference work
- “Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6966156: Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer
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Institutional database
- arXiv, Cornell University, preprints naming “Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer”
Scholarly · arXiv (Cornell University)
Literature
Literature
Literature
The Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer: a 50th birthday tribute, SPIE Proceedings, 2014
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These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hanbury), Brown, R. Hanbury (Robert. Boffin : a personal story of the early days of radar, radio astronomy, and quantum optics. Adam Hilger. 1991. 0750301309.
- 2.HANBURY BROWN, R. A Test of a New Type of Stellar Interferometer on Sirius. Nature. 178. 4541. 1046–1048. November 1956. 0028-0836.
- 3.Hanbury Brown, R. The Angular Diameters of 32 Stars. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 167. 1. 121–136. 1974-04-01. 0035-8711.
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arXiv, Cornell University, preprints naming “Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer”arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutional witnessreference work
“Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further readingWikipedia
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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