Cassegrain telescope

[ kas-uh-greyn ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. a reflecting telescope in which the light, passing through a central opening in the primary mirror, is brought into focus a short distance behind it by a secondary mirror.

Cassegrain telescope

/ ˈkæsɪˌɡreɪn /

noun

1. an astronomical reflecting telescope in which incident light is reflected from a large concave paraboloid mirror onto a smaller convex hyperboloid mirror and then back through a hole in the concave mirror to form the image

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cassegrain telescope¹

1805–15; named after N. Cassegrain, 17th-century French scientist, its inventor

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cassegrain telescope¹

C19: named after N. Cassegrain, 17th-century French scientist who invented it

Example Sentences

Similar in shape to a Cassegrain telescope, these collectors track the course of the sun and concentrate the light to 30 times its brightness, piping it down through a series of polycarbonate tubes that converge and then reflect off of high-efficiency mirrors and dispersing lenses.

From Wall Street Journal