a reflecting telescope in which the light, passing through a central opening in the primary mirror, is brought into focus a short distance behind it by a secondary mirror.
Also called Cassegrainian telescope
[kas-uh-grey-nee-uh n] /ˌkæs əˈgreɪ ni ən/ (Show IPA).
Origin
1805-15; named after N. Cassegrain, 17th-century French scientist, its inventor
British Dictionary definitions for Cassegrain telescope
Cassegrain telescope
/ˈkæsɪˌɡreɪn/
noun
1.
an astronomical reflecting telescope in which incident light is reflected from a large concave paraboloid mirror onto a smaller convex hyperboloid mirror and then back through a hole in the concave mirror to form the image
Word Origin
C19: named after N. Cassegrain, 17th-century French scientist who invented it