Telescopes: optical, radio and space telescopes
Galaxies and cosmology · Physics
Study notes
Problem: A radio telescope has a dish diameter of 100 meters. The wavelength of the radio signal it detects is 1 meter. Calculate the angular resolution (in radians) using the formula theta = 1.22 * (wavelength / diameter). Solution: Step 1: Identify the values. Wavelength (lambda) = 1 m. Diameter (D) = 100 m. Step 2: Plug values into the formula. theta = 1.22 * (1 / 100). Step 3: Calculate the division. 1 / 100 = 0.01. Step 4: Multiply by the constant. 1.22 * 0.01 = 0.0122 radians. Answer: The angular resolution is 0.0122 radians.