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What is the size of the smallest feature that could be distinguished on the surface of Venus (at closest approach) by the Arecibo radio telescope at an angular resolution of 1″?

Answer 1

#190" km"#.

At the average ckosest-approach distance of #4.0xx10^7" km"# (https://tutor.hix.ai), one second of arc corresponds to the following object size:

#(4.0xx10^7" km")xx({1°}/{3600" sec"})xx({1" radian"}/{57.2958°})=190" km"#.

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Answer 2

Michael Adkins

At closest approach, the smallest feature detectable on Venus's surface with an angular resolution of 1" would be about 1.2 kilometers, according to the Arecibo radio telescope.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.