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Dawes limit

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | 584 words | Copyright

Dawes limit The maximum resolving power that can be obtained in practice from a telescope of a given aperture. It was established by W. R.Dawes on the basis of tests of the visibility of double stars through various apertures. It states that a pair of sixth-magnitude stars can just be seen as double by a 1-inch (25.4-mm) telescope if they are separated by 4”.56. The table gives the resolving power of various instruments based on the Dawes limit.

dawes limit

Aperture mm

Resolving power ”

25

4.63

50

2.32

75

1.54

100

1.16

125

0.93

150

0.77

175

0.66

200

0.58

250

0.46

300

0.39

400

0.29

500

0.23


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