not focal length

you can see al lthe waves on that water before the ship happens

Once the light is blurred...its blurred

https://static.bhphotovideo.com/explora/sites/default/files/field-of-view-zoom-vs-prime-lens-85mm_50mm_24mm.jpg

this is how zoom works

you're capturing light from a smaller angle

the focal length is increased, the field of view is decreased

as you look thru too much atmosphere your view will be stopped

you can only zoom in so far

Well how come it only stops the view of the hull and not the sails?

depending on your angle determines how much atmosphere you are looking thru

This is how angular resolution works physically in the eye.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459802853524111361/1_EN.png
Cameras work the same way.
The cones of the retina is a zoom in of the eye. If the angular size of the target is not enough to activate more than a single cones/sensor the object is unresolvable.
There are 3 ways to decrease angular separation.
1. Move the two separate targets further or closer together.
2.Increase the distance.
3. Change the angle of view.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459805458644074511/angseperation.jpg

First here is a demonstration of how angle of view changes the angular separation of 2 targets. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459806914331541504/unknown.png

For example in this image, as the stop sign's angular size shrinks from distance or angle, the image that prjected onto the retina also shrinks. Eventually it will reach such as small size the eye can not physically detect the light. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459808085436006410/refraction_cornea.png
A geometric analogy would be closing a pair of scissors. When the scissor tips are closer together than the spacing between the rods and cones of the eye then you get to see the target. The point where the tips cross from too close to normal vision is the angular resolution.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459817803038326784/unknown.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459818062858682368/65116694_resized550bbc_sg_g4_eye.png
When the angle of view becomes to much it pretty much goes parallel, but you lose sight of the ground before that. It's the same on the globe too but even worse because the angle of view is increasing quicker because of the curving away of the ball surface.

These next images show someone how the angle stays the same but the area that you are actually observing increases. You can see the 5th image how the bottom of a building would disappear.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459819761644077057/unknown.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459813762132869126/ang1.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459813783464968206/ang2.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459813767576813578/ang4.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459813769548267542/ang5.png

They are using this stuff for self-driving cars. To automate the driving they have to turn the perspective view into an orthographic top down view.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459807394109849600/fig_2.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459807507745996810/hqdefault.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/459818062858682368/65116694_resized550bbc_sg_g4_eye.png
The soure of that image.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/20937803

Even though the title is BS. No one sees further. You ONLY capture more light.

This is how they build telescopes, to capture light.
Large telescope are reflectors. The larger convex lens gets the more distortion. So they made this. It all works the same generally speaking. A telescope will only help so much. It depends on the light collecting ability that is determined by the diameter of the lens. Some of these aren't built yet...
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/460954948222320640/512px-Comparison_optical_telescope_primary_mirrors.png
They are making the lens bigger not building 15 mile long telescopes.

Here is a demonstration of angular resultion effects with an eye charts 1D is distance from chart 2D is 2 time the distance etc...
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/379214321907007488/460955465246048256/unknown.png

Optical and Geographical Slant.
Links to PDFs and resources.

https://archive.org/details/perceptionofvisu00jame

http://faculty.psy.ohio-state.edu/todd/group/Shape%20from%20Texture/Todd-2007-jov-7-12-9.pdf

http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/todd%20%282005%29%20the%20effects%20of%20field%20of%20view%20on%20the%20perception%20of%203D%20slant%20from%20texture.pdf

http://wexler.free.fr/library/files/flock%20%281965%29%20optical%20texture%20and%20linear%20perspective%20as%20stimuli%20for%20slant%20perception.pdf

https://www.csc2.ncsu.edu/faculty/healey/download/tap.12.pdf

Source video to shorter version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yjTuaHHsTM
A short video explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNg5wqYKkJE

Accompanying information and imagery to go with the above PDFs and resources.

"As he looks downward toward his feet the slant approaches zero, as he looks upward the slant increases, as the center of ckesr vision approaches the horizon the slant becomes maximal, and at the horizon itself the land ceases to be a surface and becomes an edge."

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/461973747197411339/Screenshot_20180628-121601_Drive.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/461973747776094228/Screenshot_20180628-121640_Drive.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459444571332411412/Screenshot_20180621-113400_Drive.jpg

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458099953349427210/461804044697075712/unknown-35-1-1.png

Angular Resolution https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459052120495095818/Angular_Resolution_01_v001.webp

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459052123091632138/Angular_Resolution_02_v001.webp

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459052121896124436/Angular_Resolution_03_v002_1.webp

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459052121065783297/Angular_Resolution_04_v002.webp

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458196098767388674/459052122537721856/Angular_Resolution_05_v004.webp

https://plus.google.com/116502556172406985386/posts/Qegqk1jSNEE

https://plus.google.com/116502556172406985386/posts/fzjPdL8H7FX

https://plus.google.com/116502556172406985386/posts/4D6qoxFBSEy

Okay, now these are interesting. Finally some diagrams haha

But these are irrelevant

since we're using a zoom lens

Camera's don't work the same as the eye. In particular the image you are showing to show that points of light can't be resolved below the rayleigh criterion is not in general true.

Thank you

sometimes I can't put my thoughts into words as well as other people ;P

https://cdn-7.nikon-cdn.com/Images/Learn-Explore/Photography-Techniques/2009/Focal-Length/Media/Focal-Length-Field-of-view.jpg

Think of the light coming to your eye geometrically like a pair of scissors

The rayleigh criterion being a limit is a property of diffraction from a ciruclar aperture. Cameras can (and often do) have non circular apertures that can resolve beyond the rayleigh criterion.

ooo, I didn't know that!

That's cool :o

😃

scissors

back to what Z was saying

When the scissors close it becomes unresolvable

A flat plane cannot obscure half of an object

One of the biggest differences for instance is axicon lenses which can produce non-diffractive beams.

The angle the light is coming to your eye dictates that closure

For a gaussian beam on a circular lens*

For other waveforms and other lenses, no

If you are closer to something...it will start to blend sooner than something further

Height can cause this

Or distance