Abstract

A procedure for centering the secondary mirror of a Cassegrainian telescope on its mechanical mount has been devised, using the classical principle of observing the movement of a reflected image when the mirror is rotated. The centering is obtained by iteration, keeping the reflecting surface in contact with a circular centered edge. The achievable accuracy, accounting for the change in the hyperboloid shape of the mirror from a sphere, has been calculated; the theoretical values were checked using the procedure for centering the secondary mirror of the Tirgo infrared telescope.

© 1980 Optical Society of America

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