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Which consequence causes image degradation in astronomical interferometry?

A)Atmospheric refractive index fluctuations
B)Telescope mirror surface temperature gradients
C)Detector quantum efficiency variations
D)Inter-telescope baseline thermal expansion

💡 Explanation

Atmospheric turbulence causes blurring because of wavefront distortions. Refractive index changes create varied path lengths for light. This results in loss of coherence and, therefore, diminished constructive interference, rather than effects from mirror temperature, since those affect telescope optics.

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