Schmidt telescope

E375985

A Schmidt telescope is a wide-field reflecting telescope design that uses a spherical primary mirror and a correcting lens to capture sharp images over a large area of the sky.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Schmidt camera 4
Schmidt telescope canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf telescope design
wide-field reflecting telescope
correctorPlatePosition at or near telescope aperture
correctsAberration coma (partially)
spherical aberration
designedTo capture sharp images over a large area of the sky
enables discovery of faint, extended astronomical objects
systematic photographic sky surveys
fieldCorrectionMethod aspheric corrector plate at entrance pupil
firstBuiltAt Hamburg Observatory
hasAdvantage large corrected field
low optical distortion over wide field
hasCorrectorLocation center of curvature of primary mirror
hasCorrectorType aspheric lens
hasDisadvantage corrector plate can be large and heavy for big apertures
curved focal surface complicates detector mounting
hasFieldOfView wide field of view
hasFocalSurface curved focal plane
hasHistoricalImportance revolutionized photographic sky surveys in 20th century
hasOpticalConfiguration prime-focus design
hasPrimaryMirrorShape spherical mirror
hasVariant Baker–Nunn camera
Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope
influencedDesign Schmidt camera
linked to: Schmidt telescope

Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope
inventedBy Bernhard Schmidt
inventionYear 1930
inventorNationality Estonian-German
isNamedAfter Bernhard Schmidt
isTypeOf catadioptric telescope
lightPath single reflection from primary mirror to focal surface
mountingType various telescope mounts
notableExample ESO Schmidt Telescope at La Silla Observatory
Palomar Observatory Oschin Schmidt Telescope
UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory
optimizedFor wide-field imaging
primaryMirrorType fixed spherical mirror
typicallyUsesDetector CCD detector (modern)
photographic plate (historically)
typicalUse astronomical sky surveys
comet and asteroid searches
mapping Milky Way structure
wide-field astrophotography
usedBy amateur astronomers (smaller versions)
professional observatories
usesOpticalElement Schmidt corrector plate
usesOpticalSystem combination of mirror and lens

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kepler space telescope telescopeType Schmidt telescope
Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope design relatedDesign Schmidt camera
linked to: Schmidt telescope
Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph technology Schmidt camera
linked to: Schmidt telescope
Curtis Schmidt Telescope opticalDesign Schmidt camera
linked to: Schmidt telescope
Schmidt telescope influencedDesign Schmidt camera
linked to: Schmidt telescope
Bergedorf Observatory hasTelescope Schmidt telescope