In: Physics
Assume you are a novice telescope builder. Should you attempt a 6-inch Newtonian or Cassegrain reflector first? Why?
CASSAEGRIAN TELESCOPE
The Cassegrain reflector is a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror, often used in optical telescopes . This design puts the focal point at a convenient location behind the primary mirror and the convex secondary adds a telephoto effect creating a much longer focal length in a mechanically short system.
Newtonian Telescope
The Newtonian is definitely easier for the amatuer to build , since it involves placing only one reflector ( which captures the object in view ( and hence called objective) . As can be seen in above diagrams a Caasegrain has two reflectors ,one concave and other convex. Hence both reflectors have to ground without aberrations. Moreover , in Cassegrain one needs to align the two mirrors properly with respect to each other and final image has to be collimated to to pass through a hole in the objective which is difficult to achieve.
The only advantage is smaller size of a Cassegrain but the amatuer will find it more difficult to fabricate