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| Hubble's optical telescope assembly consists of two mirrors,
support trusses, and the focal plane structure. This system
is a Ritchey-Chretien design in which two aspheric mirrors
serve to form focused images over the largest possible
field of view. |
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| ROLLOVER text (below left) to view light path segment on graphic (below right) |
Light enters Hubble's aperture
and travels down the main baffle. A
baffle is a surface which eliminates
stray light. |
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Light is reflected by the primary
mirror which measures about 8
feet (2.4 meters) in diameter.
Because of the concave shape, the
primary mirror converges the light
to the secondary mirror through a
secondary baffle. |
The secondary mirror, measuring
about 1 foot (0.3 m) in diameter
receives the light. It in turn reflects
the still-converging light back
toward the primary mirror through
a central baffle. |
The light travels through a hole in
the primary mirror, to reach the
focal plane, where the science
instruments examine the light. |
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