Diffraction limit angle
Small-angle Airy first-null half-angle θ≈1.22 λ/D for a clear circular aperture.
SIDUS educational calculator. Category satellite. Tags: comms, geometry, optical, satellite. Pure SI. Not flight software.
Formula
θ ≈ 1.22 λ / D
Diffraction-limited angle
Primary sources
- Rayleigh criterion for a circular aperture (NASA): sin θ = 1.22 λ/D for a clear circular aperture, with the small-angle form θ ≈ 1.22 λ/D.
- Airy-pattern angular radius (NASA / JPL): 1.22 λ/D is the angular radius to the first zero of the Airy pattern (a half-angle).
How do AI agents use this tool?
Read /llms.txt or call https://sidus.tools/api/mcp. Open the interactive page for live SI inputs.