Source: https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/telescope-resolving-power-dawes-rayleigh/mechanism/

instrument mechanism / verified-clean

# Telescope Resolving Power (Dawes/Rayleigh) mechanism

The inspectable method record for Telescope Resolving Power (Dawes/Rayleigh), kept separate from implementation and qualification.

Status: **VERIFIED_CLEAN**Lifecycle: **verified-clean**

## Model scope

The existing honest label appropriately warns that this is an idealized diffraction limit and that real seeing often dominates. The Rayleigh implementation must explicitly convert radians to arcseconds, and the UI should distinguish the empirical Dawes double-star criterion from the physical Rayleigh diffraction criterion.

- The Rayleigh formula θ=1.22λ/D returns angular resolution in radians when λ and D use the same length unit; it does not directly return arcseconds as claimed. The output must multiply by 206264.806 (approximately 206265) to convert radians to arcseconds.

- The Dawes formula θ=116/D(mm) is an empirical double-star criterion in arcseconds, not a universal diffraction limit; the instrument should label it specifically as the Dawes criterion.

## Units and conventions

- For Dawes, aperture D must be in millimeters and the result is in arcseconds.

- For Rayleigh, wavelength and aperture must use identical length units before division; the result is radians unless multiplied by 206264.806 arcseconds per radian.

- The aperture must be a positive physical diameter, not radius or area.

- Wavelength should be specified as a vacuum or air wavelength consistently; this distinction is usually negligible for the displayed precision.

## Inspectable vector

One of 4 source-bound review vectors:

````
{
  "inputs": {
    "aperture_mm": 50,
    "wavelength_nm": 500
  },
  "expected_outputs": {
    "dawes_arcsec": 2.32,
    "rayleigh_arcsec": 2.516433
  },
  "working": "Dawes: 116 / 50 mm = 2.32 arcsec. Rayleigh: 500 nm = 5.00×10^-7 m; 50 mm = 0.050 m; θ = 1.22 × (5.00×10^-7 / 0.050) = 1.22×10^-5 rad; θ = 1.22×10^-5 × 206265 = 2.516433 arcsec."
}
````

## Failure boundary

**BREAK_CLAIMED** · SELF_FLAGGED

Zero aperture produces undefined division in both formulas, and the specification does not define automatic selection between Dawes and Rayleigh or make aperture and wavelength units explicit.

## Other records

[01**Overview**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/telescope-resolving-power-dawes-rayleigh/>)[03**Implementation**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/telescope-resolving-power-dawes-rayleigh/implementation/>)[04**Qualification**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/telescope-resolving-power-dawes-rayleigh/qualification/>)

## Sources and evidence

These pointers bind the page to evidence. They do not grant authority or collapse verification into deployment.

- `VERIFIED_LEDGER.json`

- `evidence-tranche4/tranche4-results.json`

- `BOUNDARY_HAZARD_CATALOG.json`