telescope techniques

A New Concept for

Tilted-Component Telescopes
A German amateurs solution to the problem of central obstruction in reflecting telescopes.

By Erwin Herrig

he majority of observers
using Newtonian or SchmidtCassegrain reflectors are familiar with the optical problems
posed by the placement of the secondary
mirror. Sitting squarely in the middle of
the incoming light beam, this obstruction
obviously cuts down the light-gathering
power of the primary mirror. It also ruffles the inbound wavefronts of light
through the effect of diffraction, lowering
the contrast of subtle details like those on
the disk of a planet. Whats more, in a
Newtonian or Cassegrain reflector the secondarys spider support adds spikes to
bright stars. The larger the secondary obstruction, the more pronounced are its
detrimental effects.
The obvious solution is either to bypass
the central obstruction or to eliminate it
completely. In 1784 the German-born
English astronomer William Herschel did
just that. He experimented with the centuries-old idea of tilting a telescopes mirror to put the focal point to one side, out
of the way of incoming starlight. According to Herschel the image through his
long-focus 18-inch speculum-metal reflector was as good as at the side [Newtonian focus]; the light is incomparably
more brilliant. . . .
Since then telescope makers have developed a great variety of configurations

for unobstructed optical systems. After

Herschels single-mirror design came the
two-mirror schiefspiegler (oblique reflector) of Anton Kutter in the mid-1950s.
More recently, Richard Buchroeder, Jos
Sasian, and others have developed threeand four-mirror versions with even better image quality. However, most of these

tilted-component telescopes (TCTs) are

quite slow as telescopes go they generally have focal ratios of f/15 to f/26. Although such a scope cant fully compete
with a premium apochromatic refractor,
especially in compactness, it can be made
at a fraction of the cost. That is what
makes the TCT so attractive to the amateur telescope maker.
Unfortunately, every mirror tilt brings
with it such optical aberrations as coma,
spherical aberration, and astigmatism. The

Erwin Herrig with the prototype of his 140-millimeter (512 -inch) f/9.3 tilted-component telescope. Featuring an all-spherical, two-mirror
design (plus a final, right-angle reflection at
the eyepiece for the observers comfort), the
telescope was exhibited for the first time during the International Vogelsberg Star Party in
Stumpertenrod, Germany, last May. All photographs in the article are courtesy E. Herrig.
Sky & Telescope November 1997

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

113

Herrig Three-Mirror,
Tilted-Component Telescope

Herrig Two-Mirror,
Tilted-Component Telescope
Focus

Focus

Spherical
concave
tertiary

Spherical
convex
primary

goal in TCT design is to have one tilted

mirrors aberrations compensate for those
of another across a reasonably wide field
of view. Depending on the particular type
of TCT, this balancing act usually leads to
a fairly complicated system. It has either
many components, or a few exotic mirror
surfaces (toroidal, for example), or an unfavorably large focal ratio.
In short, the ideal TCT would be an
obstruction-free, mechanically compact
system with two simple mirrors (convex
and concave) and a focal ratio much less
than f/15. It should also be diffractionlimited across at least a 12 field of view.
This article presents a significant step toward achieving this goal.
The Design
The diagram at above right shows the
general scheme of my new TCT design.
The prototype consists of two spherical
mirrors with a 140-millimeter (512-inch)
aperture and 1,300-mm focal length
(f/9.3). The radii of curvature of the convex primary and concave secondary mirrors are 9,100 mm and 2,900 mm, respectively. The two are set 614 mm apart.
From the optical point of view my design is actually a four-mirror system because the light is made to bounce twice on
each mirror! This double-reflection concept is what allows the telescope to be so
compact. It also provides excellent compensation for all optical aberrations.
The focal plane is located 720 mm behind the secondary. As with all other
TCT designs, the focal plane is slightly
tilted and the image scale somewhat
stretched in one direction. But this tilt
(5) and distortion (0.7 percent) are significantly less than those of other TCT
systems. For visual observing the image
tilt is not so critical it can be approximated by slightly cocking the focuser
without any serious consequence. However, for photographic work it has to be
considered when you are mounting the
camera or filmholder to the telescope.
114

Parabolic
concave
secondary

Spherical
convex
primary

Spherical
concave
secondary

Optical layout for the authors two TCT designs. The color scheme
is only for showing the sequence of mirror reflections.

The spot diagram on the facing page

shows the combined effect of all residual
optical aberrations in the telescopic
image for a field of view of 0.5 and 1.5
equivalent to one and three Moon diameters, respectively. The dot clusters represent star images in various directions
from the field center. Their compact sizes
indicate excellent image quality.
The foremost disadvantage of the double-reflection design is that it requires
mirror diameters somewhat larger than
the effective aperture. This is needed to
capture the third and fourth reflections
and ensure an unvignetted field of view.

In our example a 205-mm primary and

185-mm secondary mirror are necessary.
To keep the total weight of the telescope
as low as possible, the unused lateral segments of both mirrors can be cut away.
Another disadvantage, obviously, is the
extra loss of transmitted light due to the
systems fourfold reflection. To overcome
this I strongly recommend high-efficiency
mirror coatings. For example, the 98 percent reflectivity available from some coating laboratories leads to a total throughput
of 92 percent after four successive reflections. Thats still better than a single reflection from plain aluminum (88 percent).

A Breakthrough in the Design

of Unobstructed Telescopes
rwin Herrigs tilted-component telescope concept is a new and very refreshing
one. It clearly shows that in the field of telescope design there is still room for
innovation. The most important features of this four-reflection, unobstructed
system are compactness and potential ease of manufacturing qualities that could
give amateur telescope making a revival.
Herrigs 140-millimeter (512-inch) f/9.3 prototype is just about 2 feet long, making
it convenient to build, transport, and use. Its two spherical mirrors are quite shallow,
and the would-be telescope maker shouldnt have great
By Jos M. Sasian
difficulty fabricating them. In small versions the oversize
primary mirror needed to capture the third and fourth reflections is not a serious
disadvantage; the gain in compactness largely overcomes this drawback. The light
loss due to four reflections can be minimized with enhanced coatings.
The stubby, boxlike tube makes an altazimuth mount ideal for this telescope, especially if carried on a Poncet or other equatorial table with tracking capability. The
design also has potential for binocular and solar telescopes.
Herrigs design may well be the easiest way to obtain fine images in a small, compact telescope. If a commercial vender decides to market inexpensive but precise
mirror sets, I can see the Herrig becoming popular. Assembling the parts would
make an ideal telescope project for beginners and experienced amateurs alike.
Although this new TCT design still needs to go through the amateurs acid test
field trials by experienced observers using the star test Im excited to welcome
it on the scene. Herrigs design joins the Herschelians, schiefspieglers, and Yolos in
bringing a simple but effective solution to the amateurs quest for high-performance, unobstructed telescope optics.

An authority on tilted-component designs, Jos Sasian is engaged in research at the University of

Arizonas Optical Sciences Center in Tucson. His e-mail address is sasian@ccit.arizona.edu.

November 1997 Sky & Telescope

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

Designing double-reflection TCTs with

larger focal ratios will increase the useful
image diameter and almost completely
eliminate the residual aberrations near the
optical axis. In this case the telescopes
overall performance is governed by mirror quality rather than design, so special
attention has to be paid to the selection
or fabrication of appropriate mirrors.
Another important aspect to consider
is the way the optical elements are carried and housed. Here we need to give
particular attention to effectively minimizing stray light and air currents inside
the oddly shaped tube.

Variation on the Theme

I have also explored designs with two separate secondary mirrors instead of a common one for intercepting the second and
fourth reflections. In this case, it is possible
to achieve an even faster focal ratio, a more
compact setup, and an increased backfocus distance while still having a diffraction-limited 12 field of view. Such a system
requires a paraboloidal mirror for the second reflection to compensate for spherical
aberration. The mirror for the fourth reflection can remain spherical.
The spot diagram on page 116 illustrates the performance of this three-mirror system with a 145-mm
(6-inch) circular aperture
and 1,400-mm focal length
Left: Herrigs prototype shown
here with the light shield
removed. Note the turrettype eyepiece holder. Above:
A spot diagram for the twomirror TCT with field diameters of 0.5 (inner ring) and
1.5, illustrating the telescopes superb image quality.

4 arcsec

(f/9.7). The image plane is located 730

mm behind the last reflection and is tilted by 3.7. Here the image distortion is
less than 0.7 percent.
All spot diagrams shown in this article
were obtained with Sasians software
(S&T: November 1993, page 88). I am
grateful to Jrgen Pudenz of Jena, Germany, for deriving the formulas used in
calculating the system parameters, and to
Mirko Nitschke of Dresden, Germany, and
David Stevick of Wellsburg, West Virginia,
for verifying the novelty of this idea.

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Sky & Telescope November 1997

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

115

Herrig Double-Reflection Tilted-Component Telescopes

(All dimensions are in millimeters)
Two-Mirror System
140
1,300
f/9.3

Three-Mirror System
145
1,400
f/9.7

Primary mirror
Figure
Diameter
Radius of curvature
Tilt angle*

convex sphere
205
9,100
10.0

convex sphere
200
25,000
14.5

Secondary mirror
Figure
Diameter
Radius of curvature
Tilt angle*
Distance from primary

concave sphere
185
2,900
3.5
614

concave paraboloid
150
3,400
3.5
515

Tertiary mirror
Figure
Diameter
Radius of curvature
Tilt angle*
Distance from primary

concave sphere
100
4,200
9.3
525

Clear aperture
Focal length
Focal ratio

4 arcsec

Spot diagram for the three-mirror TCT with a

0.5 field of view. Notice the slight differences
in the edge patterns.

The TCT designs introduced in this article are protected by patents. Nevertheless, I encourage amateurs to make systems like them for their own observing
needs and pleasure.
A retired electrical engineer, author Erwin
Herrig has presented several unusual telescopes
at German star parties. He can be reached at
Geibelstrae 135, D-09127, Chemnitz, Germany; herrig@geocities.com.

*With respect to the first reflection at each surface. The actual ray deflection is twice the tilt angle given.

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116

November 1997 Sky & Telescope

1997 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.