optical design

^{optical design - simak}

max reason

simak optical system
This page describes a flat-field photo-visual maksutov-cassegrain optical system invented by Max Reason.

Depending on aperture, speed and other factors, this optical configuration has roughly 1/10 to 1/2 wave of residual zonal spherical aberration if all surfaces are exactly spherical. In practice, simak optics are typically null corrected by slight touchup of the first surface. Most simak optical systems are designed to cover a 3 to 4 degree diameter flat field with diffraction limited performance over the entire field.

----- design specifications -----

simak_data.gif (16495 bytes)

----- design layout -----

simak_design.gif (12084 bytes)

----- image quality -----
spot image wavefront-interference image

simak_spots.gif (12991 bytes) simak_waves.jpg (38243 bytes)

----- aberrations -----

simak_aberrations.gif (19722 bytes)

----- example instrument -----
----- original 8" f/5.6 prototype -----

simak00a50.jpg (109973 bytes)

----- example instrument -----
----- 12" f/5 manufactured and marketed by astroworks corporation -----
simak07.jpg (88881 bytes)

----- example photograph of whirlpool galaxy = M51 -----
----- three enlargments : full 3-degree field : central field : close-up -----
----- click any image to see larger image -----