Back to results
Cover image for book Astronomical Optics

Astronomical Optics

By:Daniel J. Schroeder
Publisher:Elsevier S & T
Print ISBN:9780126298109
eText ISBN:9780080499512
Edition:2
Copyright:2000
Format:Reflowable

eBook Features

Instant Access

Purchase and read your book immediately

Read Offline

Access your eTextbook anytime and anywhere

Study Tools

Built-in study tools like highlights and more

Read Aloud

Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you

This book provides a unified treatment of the characteristics of telescopes of all types, both those whose performance is set by geometrical aberrations and the effect of the atmosphere, and those diffraction-limited telescopes designed for observations from above the atmosphere. The emphasis throughout is on basic principles, such as Fermat's principle, and their application to optical systems specifically designed to image distant celestial sources.
The book also contains thorough discussions of the principles underlying all spectroscopic instrumentation, with special emphasis on grating instruments used with telescopes. An introduction to adaptive optics provides the needed background for further inquiry into this rapidly developing area.


  • Geometrical aberration theory based on Fermat's principle
  • Diffraction theory and transfer function approach to near-perfect telescopes
  • Thorough discussion of 2-mirror telescopes, including misalignments
  • Basic principles of spectrometry; grating and echelle instruments
  • Schmidt and other catadioptric telescopes
  • Principles of adaptive optics
  • Over 220 figures and nearly 90 summary tables

• 2026 © SAU Tech Bookstore. All Rights Reserved.