Problem

• An astronaut in the shuttle claims she can just barely resolve two point sources on Earth 160 km below.

• What is their a) angular and b) linear separation assuming ideal conditions? Take ? =540 nm and the pupil diameter of the eye to be 5.0 mm

• Solution: minimum angular separation as given by Rayleigh criterion is sin?R = 1.22 ?/d =1.22(540nm)/(5.0mm) =.000132 ~ ?R

• a) ?? = .000132 rads

• b) linear separation = (160km)(.000132)=21.1 m

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