An interferometer consists of two or more separate telescopes that combine their signals almost as if they were coming from separate portions of a telescope as big as the two telescopes are apart.
The resolution of an interferometer approaches that of a telescope of diameter equal to the largest separation between its individual elements (telescopes). However, not as many photons are collected by the interferometer as would be by a giant single telescope of that size.
Some famous interferometers are
the Very Large Array VLA
the Very Long Baseline Array VLBA
the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope WSRT
the Australia Telescope AT
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