Answer
The resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope is better when detecting visible light than when detecting UV. The reason for this is that the wavelength of visible light is much longer than that of UV. The resolving power of a telescope is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the light it is observing. Therefore, the longer the wavelength, the better the resolving power. Additionally, the mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope is designed to work best with visible light. The mirror has a special coating that helps to reflect visible light while absorbing UV light. Therefore, while the Hubble Space Telescope can detect UV light, its resolving power is much better with visible light. The mirror's size of 1.2m gives it a great resolving power, especially in visible light, and the telescope can resolve details up to 0.05 arcseconds which is equivalent to seeing two people on a penny in New York from San Francisco.
Work Step by Step
The resolution of a telescope is a measure of its ability to distinguish fine details in an object. The resolving power of a telescope is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the light it is observing. Therefore, the smaller the wavelength, the better the resolving power.
The Hubble Space Telescope uses a mirror with a radius of 1.2 meters. This large mirror allows the telescope to gather a lot of light which is important for resolving fine details. However, the size of the mirror alone does not determine the resolving power of the telescope.
The mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope is designed to work best with visible light. The mirror has a special coating that helps to reflect visible light while absorbing UV light. This means that the telescope can detect UV light, but its resolving power is much better with visible light. The reason for this is that the wavelength of visible light is much longer than that of UV.
In summary, while the Hubble Space Telescope uses a large mirror of 1.2m that allows it to gather a lot of light, its resolving power is better when detecting visible light because the mirror is designed to work best with this type of light and the wavelength of visible light is much longer than that of UV. Additionally, the mirror's size of 1.2m gives it a great resolving power, especially in visible light.
