Conclusions

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The full thesis can be downloaded with high quality figures using the links on the Contents page. In this chapter I hope to bring together the results presented within previous chapters, and to draw general conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of the Lucky Exposures method. It is clear that the Lucky Exposures approach has great potential for a number of astronomical programs. A substantial amount of observational data from 2003 is yet to be processed, and hopefully this will provide a number of important science results.

The selection of short exposures based on measurements of the Strehl ratio using reference stars in the image has been demonstrated as a technique that can provide high resolution I-band images at a $2.56$ $m$ telescope. The high Strehl ratios, small FWHM and good dynamic range offered by the technique would be very valuable in a number of astronomical imaging programs. The true imaging capability and faint limiting magnitude of reference stars for Lucky Exposures can provide significant advantages over other high frame rate imaging techniques. I will list here a few of the key conclusions which have been listed at the end of individual chapters.