The simulation of residual optical aberrations of the 8-inch Clark objective of the astronomical observatory in Ondřejov

Abstract

The 8-inch Clark objective lens of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is probably the oldest doublet used for professional astronomical observation in the Czech Republic. Its optical imaging performance has become legendary among several generations of professional astronomers. The lens was manufactured by Alvan Clark in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the end of the 1850s. The 8-inch refractor functioned as the main telescope of the astronomical observatory in Ondřejov in the first half of the twentieth century. The objective has been cleaned and restored twice in the TOPTEC Centre in Turnov. We had the opportunity to measure the optical parameters of the doublet during its time in Turnov and we subsequently evaluated its residual aberrations. This paper is a record of the results of the optical simulations.