ACTIVE AND ADAPTIVE OPTICS IN LARGE TELESCOPES

Advances in the area of adaptive optics and new concepts for constructing large ground-based and space telescopes based on adaptive optics are reviewed. It is shown that the existing level of technology in adaptive optics ensures that a diffraction-quality image can be obtained in large ground-based telescopes in the near-IR region; the construction of a new generation of adaptive telescopes with main mirror diameters of 8-16 m and 0.1" image quality in the visible spectrum is planned for the beginning of the 21 st century.