Astrophysics (Index)About

coma

(comatic aberration)
(aberration where points of light show a tail)

The coma is a type of aberration in telescopes showing as "tails" leading from objects' images. It is a characteristic of parabolic mirrors and is not present in telescopes using spherical mirrors.


The term coma is also used regarding comets, for their nebulous surroundings with tails, similar in shape to an optical coma.


(optics)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coma_(optics)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coma_(cometary)
https://www.telescope-optics.net/coma.htm

Referenced by pages:
aberration
anastigmat
Ritchey-Chrétien telescope (RCT)
Schiefspiegler
Schmidt-Newton telescope (SNT)
Yolo telescope

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