Very-long-baseline interferometry (
VLBI) is a type of
astronomical interferometry used in
radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an
astronomical radio source, such as a
quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth. The distance between the radio telescopes is then calculated using the time difference between the arrivals of the radio signal at different telescopes. This allows observations of an object that are made simultaneously by many radio telescopes to be combined, emulating a telescope with a size equal to the maximum separation between the telescopes.