Michelson interferometry with Keck I

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Abstract
We have used the technique of aperture masking to transform the 10m Keck telescope into a separate-element, multiple aperture Michelson interferometer. This has allowed a dramatic gain in signal-to-noise to be achieved as compared to conventional full-pupil interferometry for bright targets such as evolved giant and supergiant stars. Preliminary results from a program of near-IR diffraction-limited imaging of such stars are presented. Multi-wavelength images in the IR JHK and L bands have revealed complex and asymmetric morphologies in the inner dust shells surrounding a number of proto-typical dust-enshrouded IR stars. In addition, we have imaged the stellar photospheres of some of our largest target stars, allowing us to measure diameters and search for structure, such as giant convective cells, on the stellar surface.

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