Catadioptric telescopes for planetary astrophotography are usually the choice for beginner astronomy enthusiasts looking to observe and capture deep space in detail. This optical telescope combines refracting and reflecting optics, i.e., it uses both lenses and mirrors to create images. As a result of this combination, there is better error correction, which results in a more comprehensive and error-free view. With a catadioptric telescope, you can expect better imagery.
The design of catadioptric telescopes makes them a preferable scope for astrophotographers. These scopes mostly come with simple sphere-shaped surfaces and foldable optical systems’. Making them portable and relatively easy to move around. If you have to mount your telescope or use it from somewhere, that is not your roof, this telescope will be great for you.
They are mounted on lightweight fork mounts instead of the regular German equatorial used by professional astrophotographers. They are an excellent choice for beginner astronomers, so let us deep dive, into the features and benefits of catadioptric telescopes. Here, you will learn what makes catadioptric telescopes different from other scopes, and if you want to buy them, we recommend them. Continue reading to learn more.
Features of Catadioptric Telescopes For Planetary Astrophotography
Simple but Powerful Design
Spherical mirrors are used in Catadioptric telescopes, which makes for a simple but efficient design. The mirrors make it easy to focus on objects. And their large aperture allows a better resolution to see the details in an image. With a comprehensive field view and significant light manipulation, these types of telescopes create powerful images.
Light Efficiency
The mirror design of this scope and its wide-angle enhance lighting and create better imagery. Compared to other telescopes, the contrast and definition are better, and the images are more detailed.
Better Imagery with Corrector Lenses
These scopes come with lenses that help perfect the distortion in imagery that is a default with scopes made with spherical surface mirrors and lenses. These specially designed corrective lenses can refract light in a way that reduces aberrations and provides a clearer view of deep space. Due to the shape of the mirror, the image that will be yielded without corrector lenses would be infinite and imperfect.
Compact and Practical
The telescope come in an efficient design. For one, it is designed in a fold-path system that reduces the focal length. This makes the scope more portable. The design also improves efficiency in terms of lighting. It can focus on objects without issues like a darkened image or chromatic distortions. The compact size is easily transportable for a scope with as strong an aperture.
Affordable Price Points
Catadioptric telescopes for planetary astrophotography are usually less expensive than most because of the efficiency of their design. As they come in simple spherical designs aided by easy-to-produce corrective lenses. The cost of production is significantly lesser than most. It makes it a more affordable telescope to purchase than most.
Each type of catadioptric telescope has distinct merits and drawbacks. There is a wide range of catadioptric scope options on the market, making choosing one type difficult. Your choice of telescope should depend on what you need it for. Your budget and, more importantly, the specifications on aperture and magnification.
Below, we highlight the main types of catadioptric telescopes and what you should know about them.
Maksutov-Cassegrain
This telescope is named after its Russian inventor, Dmitri Maksutov, and is quite similar to the Schmidt-Cassegrain. It is popular amongst beginners because it is easy to use. And requires little maintenance and still yields images with high definition. It, however, comes with smaller aperture sizes.
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope
Reflecting telescopes is very popular as it is reasonably priced even though it has larger apertures. It consists of a short optical tube, a primary mirror, the Schmidt corrector lenses, and a secondary mirror inside the lenses.
The telescope boasts a focus mechanism in image production that yields better images with fewer aberrations. Aided by the Schmidt corrector lenses and a unique light folding ability. Modern iterations of this scope can create tremendous and sharp imagery. It makes it a favorite for avid astrophotographers.
Schmidt Astrographs
Schmidt Astrographs telescopes are made more for astrography than deep sky observance. The advantage of this scope is that it yields a sharper view, making it easier to survey and capture larger objects in deep space. They, however, have shorter focal lengths than other telescopes.
Schmidt Newtonian
Schmidt Newtonian
While this scope isn’t the most popular, it improves the popular Newtonian scope. It combines the designs of Newtonian and Cassegrain. But with Schmidt-corrected lenses to remove light infractions and a wider view. The focal length of this telescope is also shorter, yielding a more expansive view than Newtonian.
As explained, catadioptric telescopes come in different designs and models, making them distinctively suitable for various purposes. For beginners looking to purchase a telescope with great features for astrophotography. We recommend scopes like the Orion 10022 StarMax 90mm TableTop Maksutov. The Celestron NextStar Evolution 8 Telescope.
These recommendations are based on the most desired feature and user reviews. The Celestron NextStar Evolution 8 stands out of all three because of its aperture size and advanced features. For its price point, it is an excellent choice for catadioptric telescopes.
