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{{More citations needed|date=January 2012}}
'''Angular resolution''' describes the ability of any [[image-forming device]] such as an [[Optical telescope|optical]] or [[radio telescope]], a [[microscope]], a [[camera]], or an [[Human eye|eye]], to distinguish small details of an object, thereby making it a major determinant of [[image resolution]]. It is used in [[optics]] applied to light waves, in [[antenna (radio)|antenna theory]] applied to radio waves, and in [[acoustics]] applied to sound waves. The colloquial use of the term "resolution" often causes confusion; when a camera is said to have high resolution because of its good image quality, it actually has a low angular resolution (because the angular distance, or difference in angle, at which it can still resolve individual objects is low). The closely related term [[spatial resolution]] refers to the precision of a measurement with respect to space, which is directly connected to angular resolution in imaging instruments. The '''Rayleigh criterion''' shows that the minimum angular spread that can be resolved by an image forming system is limited by [[diffraction]] to the ratio of the [[wavelength]] of the waves to the [[aperture]] width. For this reason, high resolution imaging systems such as astronomical [[telescope]]s, long distance [[telephoto lens|telephoto camera lenses]] and [[radio telescope]]s have large apertures.
==Definition of terms==
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