Space telescope designed for accurate measurements

TL;DR

This paper proposes a modified folded aplanatic Gregory space telescope with a spherical two-lens corrector, achieving high signal-to-noise observations with near-diffraction-limited imaging and protection from cosmic particles.

Contribution

It introduces a novel telescope design with specific optical improvements for high-quality space observations in the 0.35-1.0 μm range.

Findings

Achieves near-diffraction-limited star images with D80 of 5.9-8.2 μm.

Provides a 3-degree field of view with low distortion (<0.5%).

Ensures protection from cosmic particles and background illumination.

Abstract

A modified version of the folded aplanatic Gregory telescope equipped with a spherical two-lens corrector is proposed for observations requiring a high signal-to-noise ratio. The basic telescope model has an aperture of 400 mm (f/3.0), its field of view is 3.0 degrees, the linear obscuration is 0.12, the distortion is less than 0.5%. The focal surface has a spherical shape; the achieving of a plane field requires an increase in the number of lenses in the corrector. The images of stars in the integrated wavelength range 0.35 - 1.0 mcm are close to the diffraction-limited ones (D_{80} = 5.9 - 8.2 mcm = 1.0 - 1.4 arc seconds). The system is free from direct background illumination; both the lens corrector and the light detector are protected from cosmic particles.