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← HistoryWhich effect limited the accuracy of early Islamic astrolabes when sighting distant objects?
A)Chromatic aberration in sighting pinholes
B)Spherical aberration in alidade mirrors
C)Diffraction at the alidade edge✓
D)Polarization of starlight by atmospheric dust
💡 Explanation
When astronomers aligned the alidade, diffraction occurs because light waves bend around the straight edge, causing blurring that increases with distance, thus limiting observational accuracy. Therefore diffraction is the primary limit, rather than aberration or polarization effects manageable given materials and observational methods.
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