General properties of Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes

Maksutov-Cassegrain is a sealed tube telescope very similar to the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Maksutov-Cassegrain uses a thicker corrector plate than the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.

Path of the light in Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope

• Light enters the tube through the corrector lens and is then reflected from the primary mirror which is located at the other end of the telescope.

• Once reflected, the light travels to the secondary mirror. The secondary mirror is an aluminated plate in the center of the corrector plate.

• From there, it passes through a small hole in the primary mirror to the eyepiece.

Observations with Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope

Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is quite small in size, which gives it proper resolution and high contrast — great for planetary observing.

Because of a small secondary mirror obstruction, the image is very sharp.

With the focal ratio between f11 and f15, the field of view is rather narrow - meaning that the "deep-space" objects appear very small in the field. Although Maksutov-Cassegrain is small in size, it is quite heavy (heavy corrector lens).