How to get sharper image?

Another important power of a telescope is its ability to make us see really small details and see sharp images. This is its resolving
power. Objects that are so close together in the sky that they blur together into a single blob are easily seen as separate objects
with a good telescope. The resolving power is measured in the absolute smallest angle that can be resolved. The absolute minimum
resolvable angle (smallest visible detail) in arc seconds = 252,000 × (observation wavelength) / (objective diameter). The
wavelength and diameter must be measured in the same length units (i.e., both wavelength and objective diameter given in meters or
both in nanometers). A telescope with one arc second resolution would be able to see a dime from about 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles)
away. Modern telescopes are able to count the number of lines in President Roosevelt's hair on a dime at that distance.

The desire is to make as small as possible. This can be done by making the observation wavelength small (e.g., use UV instead of
visible light) or by making the objective diameter large. Another way to understand it is the more waves that can be packed on the
objective, the more information the telescope detects and, therefore, the more detailed the image is. A 40-centimeter telescope has
two times the resolution of a 20-centimeter telescope at the same observing wavelength ( for the 40-centimeter telescope is one-
half the for the 20-centimeter telescope). However, fluctuations in the atmosphere will usually smear images into a fuzzy blob
about one arc second or more across so the resolution is usually limited to the resolution from a 12.5-centimeter telescope on the
ground. I will discuss the atmosphere's effect on images further in the another section and ways you can compensate for it.

Resolving Power of a Telescope

16. Resolving power of a telescope (102) (Problem 5-2)

The resolving power or angular resolution of a telescope depends on the diameter of the primary mirror or lens and on the
wavelength of the light begin used. If this diameter (denoted D) is given in m and the wavelength of the light, , is given in

m( ), the resolving power, , in seconds of arc is found from the formula:

For example, the Hampden-Sydney Telescope mirror has a diameter of 40 cm = 0.4 m. The wavelength at which it operates is
approximately = 500 nm = 0.5 m. The resolving power of the telescope is:

In reality, the detail that can be seen with our telescope is not this small. Lens and mirror quality and atmospheric conditions will limit
the actual resolution to perhaps twice this value.
 Terms & Symbols

Symbol Meaning
Diameter of the exit pupil. The exit pupil is where the light leaving the eyepiece converges to its smallest circle -- you find the
Dep
exit pupil when you bring your eye up to the eyepiece until you can see the whole image.
Diameter of the objective. The "objective" can be either the large lens at the front of the telescope (in a refractor) or the
DO
large mirror at the back of the telescope (in a reflector).
Focal length of the eyepiece. The distance from the center of the eyepiece lens to the point at which light passing through the
fe
lens is brought to a focus.
Focal length of the objective. The distance from the center of the objective lens (or mirror) to the point at which incoming
fO
light is brought to a focus.
f-Ratio. Simply the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the objective, or fO/DO. This is written "f/" and then the value.
An example would be an "f/10" telescope, meaning the focal length is 10 times the diameter of the objective. This is commonly
fR
given along with the diameter of the objective to describe a scope, and is a surprisingly useful parameter for characterizing
its performance, as seen below.
Field of view of the eyepiece. A measure of the area you can see when looking through the eyepiece alone. This is expressed as
FOVe the angle from one side of the area to the other (with you at the vertex). The two parameters fe and FOVe are the two
primary specifications for the eyepiece.
Field of view of the scope. Tells you how much of the sky you see in the image in the telescope. This is the distance from one
FOVscope
side of the eyepiece image to the other, expressed in degrees or minutes of arc across the sky.
Gain in visible star magnitudes. The increase in star magnitudes that you can see by looking through the scope (compared to
Gmag looking by eye). So for example if the faintest star you can see by eye is magnitude 5, a gain of 7.3 would mean you could see
stars of magnitude 5+7.3 = 12.3 in the scope.
Magnification. The apparent increase in size of an object when looking through the telescope, compared with viewing it
M
directly.
Resolving Power. The smallest separation between two stars that can possibly be distinguished with the scope. This is an
PR
indication of the finest detail the scope is capable of seeing -- regardless of the magnifying power.

Scope Equations

Note 1: You might notice the number 7 shows up a lot in these equations. This is because I am taking the diameter of the pupil of a
dark-adapted eye to be 7 mm, as is customary for these calculations, and matching the diameter of the exit pupil, Dep, to that. You
could reasonably replace all the 7's with "Deye", but I find simply calling it out as 7 is more practical.

Note 2: I've made these equations as simple and easy to use as possible, so you can do most, if not all, of these calculations in the
field in your head. An additional pointer: always work in millimeters. The fact that values are sometimes given in inches and sometimes
in centimeters can make things more complicated than they need to be. Millimeters work out really well, so always convert. Multiply
inches by 25 and centimeters by 10 to convert to millimeters.

Term Computed Equation Theory & Practice

Resolving Power (in arcseconds)

Magnification

Scope Field of View

Focal Length of the Eyepiece

Gain in Visible Star Magnitudes

Surface Brightness
at Magnification M using Eyepiece Focal Length fe

Special Cases

Term Exit Pupil M fe SB Theory & Practice