A 10-m-diameter radio telescope has worse angular resolution than a 1-m-diameter optical telescope because:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The angular resolution of a telescope is determined by the wavelength of the radiation it is observing. Radio waves have much longer wavelengths than visible light, so the 10-m-diameter radio telescope has worse angular resolution than a 1-m-diameter optical telescope. This is because the longer wavelength of radio waves makes it harder to differentiate between closely spaced objects.

A 10-M-Diameter Radio Telescope Has Worse Angular Resolution Than a 1-M-Diameter