![]() T a n ( 1 / 60 d e g r e e ) = b / a This equation is not rendering properly due to an incompatible browser. is equal to b/a, so, if you do the calculation below, you find: See Technical Requirements in the Orientation for a list of compatible browsers. ![]() The value of the tangent of β This equation is not rendering properly due to an incompatible browser. You can ask how far from you the car must be for the angle β This equation is not rendering properly due to an incompatible browser. If the separation between the headlights is the side labeled b, then the distance between you and the car is the side labeled a. Click on the Start button in the Flash animation below to see the animation and note at what point you see two headlights.Ĭredit: Penn State Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics If those two light sources are separated by an angle smaller than this (which happens if two lights separated by 6 feet are about 4 miles away from you), you would see them blurred together, appearing as a single light source. However, when that car is one mile away from you, are you certain that you would still be able to tell? Your eye can tell that two distinct light sources are distinct if the angle that separates them is greater than 1/60 th of a degree (a unit of measurement called an arcminute an arcsecond is 1/60 th of an arcminute). When a car is very close to you, your eye can easily tell that it has two bright headlights. ![]() On the page, there is no opportunity for me to pause and let you think about it, so I'll just give you the answer. To begin this page, let me ask a rhetorical question: How close to you must a car be in order for you to tell that it has two headlights? ![]()
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