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Cassegrain
 

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Cassegrain Reflector




First developed in 1672 by Laurent Cassegrain , this reflector is a combination of a primary Concave and a secondary Convex Mirror , both aligned symmetrically about the Optical Axis . The primary mirror usually contains a hole in the centre thus permitting the light to reach an Eyepiece , a Camera , or a Light Detector . The primary mirror is of Paraboloid type, while the secondary mirror is of Hyperboloid type.

There are three basic types of and the Maksutov-Cassegrain ; both are similarly designed.

Another descendent of the Cassegrain design is the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, which uses a hyperboloid primary and secondary mirror, eliminating the corrector plate needed for the catadioptic telescopes. Most modern telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope , use the Ritchey-Chrétien design.


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