Question

How can the resolving power of a telescope be increased?

Answer 1

Hint: To understand how different terms affect the resolving power of a telescope, we need to first find the relation between the resolving power different terms, such as wavelength and diameter. As soon as we get the relation between resolving power and terms, then we can find how those terms will affect the resolving power of a telescope.

Formula used:
$Resolving\,Power\,(RP)=\dfrac{Diameter\,(D)}{1.22\times (Wavelength\,(\lambda ))}$

Complete solution:
We know that, the formula to get the resolving power of a telescope is:
$Resolving\,Power\,(RP)=\dfrac{Diameter\,(D)}{1.22\times (Wavelength\,(\lambda ))}$
From the above formula, resolving power is directly proportional to diameter of the object and inversely proportional to the wavelength of the object.
So, to increase the resolving power of a telescope, either we can increase the diameter of the object or decrease the wavelength.
Therefore, the resolving power is dependent on both the diameter of the object and wavelength of the object and it can be increased either by increasing the diameter of the object or decreasing the wavelength of the object.

Additional Information:
The resolving power of an objective lens is measured by its ability to differentiate two lines or points in an object. The greater the resolving power, the smaller the minimum distance between two lines or points that can still be distinguished. The larger the Numerical Aperture, the higher the resolving power.

Note:
The formula of the resolving power helps a lot to get the relationship between the resolving power and the diameter, as well as the wavelength of the object. Once we know the relationship between the diameter, wavelength and resolving power, then we can understand properly how it will affect the resolving power and then we can obtain the final solution easily.