Bernhard Schmidt (optician)

Bernhard Schmidt was a German optician and engineer best known for inventing the Schmidt camera, a specialized telescope used in astronomical surveys. The Schmidt camera features a combination of a spherical mirror and an aspheric correction plate, allowing it to capture wide areas of the sky with high clarity and minimal optical distortions. This design simplifies construction and facilitates efficient sky mapping, making it ideal for large-scale astronomical observations. Schmidt’s innovations significantly advanced observational astronomy by enabling more comprehensive sky surveys and enhancing our ability to study celestial objects systematically.