Image reconstruction by the speckle-masking method.

Speckle masking is a method for reconstructing high-resolution images of general astronomical objects from stellar speckle interferograms. In speckle masking no unresolvable star is required within the isoplanatic patch of the object. We present digital applications of speckle masking to close spectroscopic double stars. The speckle interferograms were recorded with the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-m telescope. Diffraction-limited resolution (0.03 arc see) was achieved, which is about 30 times higher than the resolution of conventional astrophotography.