A catadioptric is a reflecting telescope but one which has a shaped glass lens at the entry to the scope in addition to the mirror. This means that a spherical mirror, which is easier to manufacture, can be used instead of a parabolic mirror.
Daryl S Said,
The most popular catadioptric designs are the Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain Go to the site below. It has a nice diagram and good explanation.
A catadioptric IS a form of a reflector scope. The other type is refractor telescopes that use lenses instead of mirrors.
digquickly Said,
Dear sparklychef,
Please, read the article that I’ve posted in the source below. It has some nice pictures which explan the difference between a refractor, reflector, and a catadioptric telescope.
I own a catadoptirc telescope in the form of a Schmidt-Cassegrain. It’s a great scope own and to use.
Geoff G Said,
A catadioptric telescope is primarily a reflecting telescope with a correcting lens somewhere in the optical path. In the Schmidt designs, this is a thin aspheric correcting plate at the front of the telescope. In the Maksutov designs, it is a fairly thick, deeply curved meniscus lens, also at the front. There are also a few designs which have a smaller correcting element elsewhere in the system, such as near the secondary mirror. Vixen manufactures a couple of these.
Comments
A catadioptric is a reflecting telescope but one which has a shaped glass lens at the entry to the scope in addition to the mirror. This means that a spherical mirror, which is easier to manufacture, can be used instead of a parabolic mirror.
The most popular catadioptric designs are the Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain Go to the site below. It has a nice diagram and good explanation.
A catadioptric IS a form of a reflector scope. The other type is refractor telescopes that use lenses instead of mirrors.
Dear sparklychef,
Please, read the article that I’ve posted in the source below. It has some nice pictures which explan the difference between a refractor, reflector, and a catadioptric telescope.
I own a catadoptirc telescope in the form of a Schmidt-Cassegrain. It’s a great scope own and to use.
A catadioptric telescope is primarily a reflecting telescope with a correcting lens somewhere in the optical path. In the Schmidt designs, this is a thin aspheric correcting plate at the front of the telescope. In the Maksutov designs, it is a fairly thick, deeply curved meniscus lens, also at the front. There are also a few designs which have a smaller correcting element elsewhere in the system, such as near the secondary mirror. Vixen manufactures a couple of these.
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