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| Maksutov Cassegrain
The Maksutov telescope design is that of a catadioptric telescope. It avoids chromatic aberration and also employs a full diameter meniscus lens (commonly called a "corrector plate") to correct the problems of off-axis aberrations such as coma found in reflecting telescopes. The design is most commonly seen in a Cassegrain variation, with an integrated secondary, that can use all-spherical elements, thereby simplifying fabrication. At the time of his invention, Maksutov himself hinted at the possibility of a 'folded' Cassegrain-type construction in a telescope. John Gregory, a designer for Perkin-Elmer, developed a Maksutov-Cassegrain design telescope from Maksutov's ideas. Gregory later published his landmark design for two f/15 and f/23 Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes in a 1957 issue of Sky and Telescope. Commercial use of the design for the Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes was explicitly reserved for Perkin-Elmer. Most Maksutovs manufactured today are the telescopes with this type of 'Cassegrain' design (sometimes called a Spot-Maksutov) that may use all spherical surfaces and has, as secondary, a small aluminized spot on the inner face of the corrector. This has the advantage of simplifying a telescope's construction. It also has the advantage of fixing the alignment of the secondary and eliminates the need for a 'spider' that would cause diffraction spikes. The disadvantage is that, if all spherical surfaces are used, such systems as the Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope design have to have focal ratios above F15 to avoid aberrations . Gregory himself, in a second, faster (f/15) Maksutov Cassegrain telescope system design resorted to aspherization of the front corrector surface (or the primary mirror) in order to reduce aberrations. This is OpticSale's selection of Maksutov Cassegrain system telescopes. Select and buy the best Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope by Bushnell and Newcon for your needs and budget.
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