Airy disk
![Computer-generated image of an Airy disk. The gray scale intensities have been adjusted to enhance the brightness of the outer rings of the Airy pattern.](/Images/godic/202501/09/Airy-pattern.svg5258.png")
![Surface plot of intensity in an Airy disk.](/Images/godic/202501/09/Airy-3d.svg5258.png")
![Real Airy disk created by passing a laser beam through a pinhole aperture](/Images/godic/202501/09/Airy_disk_created_by_laser_beam_through_pinhole5258.jpg")
![Log-log plot of aperture diameter vs angular resolution at the diffraction limit for various light wavelengths compared with various astronomical instruments. For example, the blue star shows that the Hubble Space Telescope is almost diffraction-limited in the visible spectrum at 0.1 arcsecs, whereas the red circle shows that the human eye should have a resolving power of 20 arcsecs in theory, though normally only 60 arcsecs.](/Images/godic/202501/09/Diffraction_limit_diameter_vs_angular_resolution.svg5258.png")
In optics, the Airy disk (or Airy disc) and Airy pattern are descriptions of the best focused spot of light that a perfect lens with a circular aperture can make, limited by the diffraction of light. The Airy disk is of importance in physics, optics, and astronomy.