RC Optical Systems designs and manufactures quality Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes and imaging instruments for Government, Military, Institutional, and Professional and Amateur Astronomers. Our innovative design incorporates state-of-the-art materials to assure a product with the utmost performance, stability and quality.

Designed principally as a photographic instrument by American George Ritchey and Frenchman Henri Chrétien, the Ritchey-Chrétien optical design is coma free. Coma is an aberration common in all reflecting telescope systems. The Ritchey-Chrétien design utilizes a hyperbolic primary mirror and secondary mirror. This design corrects for coma and results in a smaller spot size on and off axis. Examine this spot diagram to see the difference!

Since Ritchey-Chrétien optics are two mirror optical systems, they have no Spectral Dispersion or Chromatic Aberration. Chromatic Aberrations are common in Catadioptric Systems and caused by their refractive element known as a "corrector plate". See diagrams of Chromatic Aberration on and off axis in a catadioptric system. Our Ritchey-Chrétien Telescopes are commonly used from UV to Long Wave Infrared (100nm - 12mu)!

Simply put by Master Optician Paul Jones of Star Instruments, "the Ritchey-Chrétien has the largest aberration-free field of view, of any reflecting telescope made".

The hyperbolic mirrors utilized in the Ritchey-Chrétien design are very difficult to manufacture. However, given the benefits of the design, the Ritchey-Chrétien has been the choice of nearly all professional observatories for the last 50 years.

Mass produced telescopes are generally heavy, fragile, and thermally unstable. RC Optical Systems uses "Correct Carbon Composite Construction" allowing for lightweight, high strength, stable, and thermally inert instruments.

Government, Military, Institutional, Professional and Amateurs alike are now using larger format and higher resolution CCD or CMOS based cameras. In addition to its originally intended use as a photographic instrument, the Ritchey-Chrétien has become the ultimate CCD / CMOS imaging platform.

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RC Optical Systems, Inc. An Arizona Corporation
1650 South Plaza Way, Suite 101, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, 928-526-5380
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