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What is a catadioptric?
Home » Astronomy » Telescopes » What is a catadioptric?The last on our list of telescope types is a hybrid known as the catadioptric. It uses both a primary mirror and a front lens called a corrector plate to optically perfect the incoming light. It then bounces it back to a small secondary mirror located on the corrector plate and back again to the rear where the eyepiece fine tunes it. You will sometimes hear these telescopes referred to as cassegrain or maksuktov.
While these telescopes are considerably more expensive than a reflector, they are still less expensive than a refractor of comparable size. Their major strong points are portability and high quality images. They are the choice for those wishing to begin in astrophotography and offer terrestrial views as well.
But there are drawbacks to this design… They are less rugged, tend to gather moisture easily, and are more expensive than similar size reflectors.
Related Telescopes Articles
- Choosing a Telescope
- What types of telescopes are there?
- What is a refractor?
- What is a reflector?
- What is a catadioptric?
- How do I choose a scope that's right for me?
- Where do I go to purchase a telescope?