What other optical designs have been tried for telescopes other than lenses and mirrors?

Liquid mirror telescopes made from a pool of mercury spun at several RPM are being used in a few observatories. Exotic technologies involving other types of light collection and focussing methods have been tried, but there is nothing as simple as the basic concept of a 'mirror', and stiff enough to maintain its optical figure. I'm afraid we are stuck with this type of technology for the forseeable future.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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