Glossary term: Resolución Angular
Description: La resolución, o resolución angular, es el ángulo más pequeño entre dos objetos puntuales cercanos que pueden verse apenas separados. También puede considerarse como la dispersión de un objeto puntual (como una estrella), que se debe principalmente a la óptica del telescopio. Esta es una característica muy importante de los telescopios, ya que los telescopios con mayor resolución angular nos permiten separar visualmente estrellas muy cercanas entre sí, así como ver detalles más finos en objetos extensos como nebulosas y galaxias. Dos estrellas con una separación angular inferior a la resolución aparecerán como un único objeto. La resolución de un telescopio puede mejorarse aumentando el tamaño de su espejo colector de luz o de su lente. También depende de la longitud de onda y empeora a medida que ésta aumenta.
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Term and definition status: The original definition of this term in English have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher The translation of this term and its definition is still awaiting approval
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
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In Other Languages
- Árabe: الدفة الزاوية
- Bengalí: কৌণিক বিভেদন
- Alemán: Auflösungsvermögen
- Inglés: Angular Resolution
- Francés: Résolution angulaire
- Italiano: Risoluzione angolare
- Japonés: 角分解能 (external link)
- Nepalí: कोणीय विभेदन
- Portugués de Brasil: Resolução angular
- Chino simplificado: 角分辨率
- Chino tradicional: 角分辨率
Related Media
A binary brown dwarf system revealed
Caption: This image presents a nearby system of brown dwarfs, objects that fall between planets and stars in mass and do not sustain long-term nuclear fusion in their cores. Located about 6.5 light-years from Earth, this system (known as Luhman 16) is the third closest system to the Solar System after the Alpha Centauri system and Barnard's Star. It was initially observed as what seemed to be a single faint source of infrared light. Brown dwarfs are often difficult to study because of their low brightness, especially in visible light. However they shine brighter in infrared light due to their cooler effective temperatures.
The comparison highlights the importance of observational resolution. The image at the center, taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), shows the system as a single blurred object due to its lower resolution (WISE has a resolution of roughly 6 arcseconds). A highlighted zoomed-in view from the Gemini South Observatory in Chile reveals that this “single” source is actually a binary system of two brown dwarfs. The improved angular resolution (roughly 0.6 arcseconds) allows astronomers to separate the two objects clearly, demonstrating how higher-resolution observations uncover hidden structures in the universe. While the Gemini telescope is situated on the Earth and thus is affected by the blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere, it has a substantially larger mirror than the WISE telescope (8m wide vs. 40cm wide) meaning it can achieve much higher resolutions.
Credit: NASA/JPL/Gemini Observatory/AURA/NSF
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License: PD Public Domain icons
