View Single Post
  #6  
Old August 21st 11, 04:35 AM posted to sci.astro.amateur
Ron Cuaz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 19
Default pixel to object mapping formula

On Aug 21, 9:36*am, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:09:19 -0700 (PDT), Ron Cuaz

wrote:
Thanks. So at a distance of 5 meters. How do I know how big an area of
the object it would appear to a single pixel? What's the formula? ow.


That's just basic trig. For a subtended angle A, a distance D, and an
object of size d,

A = 2 * arctan(0.5 * d / D), or
d = 2 * D * tan(A / 2)

So for a pixel scale of 12.7 arcmin/pixel, and a distance of 5 m,

d = 2 * 5 m * tan(12.7 arcmin / 2) = 0.018 m = 18 mm per pixel.


tangent of (12.7arcmin/2) is 0.1113 and multiply it by 2 * 5 is
1.113m. I wonder how you got 0.018 m?