Acuter 60mm Maksutov Telescope
Above: 60mm aperture Maksutov–Cassegrain telescope
Overview
The Maksutov, abbreviated "Mak" is a catadioptric telescope design that combines a spherical mirror with a mildly negative meniscus lens in a design that takes advantage of all the surfaces being nearly "spherically symmetrical". The negative lens is usually full diameter and placed at the entrance pupil of the telescope (commonly called a "corrector plate" or "meniscus corrector shell").
Corrects Aberrations
The design corrects the problems of off-axis aberrations such as coma found in reflecting telescopes while also correcting chromatic aberration.
The Invention
It was patented in 1941 by Russian optician Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov. He based his design on the idea behind the Schmidt camera of using the spherical errors of a negative lens to correct the opposite errors in a spherical primary mirror. The design is most commonly seen in a Cassegrain variation, with an integrated secondary, that can use all-spherical elements, thereby simplifying fabrication. Maksutov telescopes have been sold on the amateur market since the 1950s.
Corrects Aberrations
The design corrects the problems of off-axis aberrations such as coma found in reflecting telescopes while also correcting chromatic aberration.
The Invention
It was patented in 1941 by Russian optician Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov. He based his design on the idea behind the Schmidt camera of using the spherical errors of a negative lens to correct the opposite errors in a spherical primary mirror. The design is most commonly seen in a Cassegrain variation, with an integrated secondary, that can use all-spherical elements, thereby simplifying fabrication. Maksutov telescopes have been sold on the amateur market since the 1950s.
