Question

Using a refracting telescope, you observe the planet Mars when it is 1.95 × 10 11 m from Earth. The diameter of the telescope's objective lens is 0.977 m . What is the minimum feature size, in kilometers, on the surface of Mars that your telescope can resolve for you? Use 561 nm for the wavelength of light.

Answer 1

Answer:

The minimum feature size is 136.6 km.

Explanation:

It is given that,

Distance from planet Mars and Earth is, $D=1.95\times 10^{11}\ m$

Diameter of the objective lens, d = 0.977 m

We need to find the minimum feature size, on the surface of Mars that your telescope can resolve for you. The expression for resolving distance is given by :

$y=\dfrac{1.22D\lambda}{d}\\\\y=\dfrac{1.22\times 1.95\times 10^{11}\times 561\times 10^{-9}}{0.977 }\\\\y=136603.78\ m\\\\y=136.6\ km$

So, the minimum feature size is 136.6 km.