Schmidt corrector plate

A Schmidt corrector plate is a specially shaped glass lens used in a Schmidt telescope to correct optical distortions caused by the main mirror’s shape. The main mirror is spherical, which can create blurry or distorted images. The corrector plate, usually thin and precisely engineered, is placed in front of the mirror to counteract these distortions, resulting in sharper, clearer images across a wide field of view. It allows for high-quality astronomical observations without the large, complex curved mirror needed in traditional telescopes.