Anamorphic catadioptric telescope and generalized spherical aberration

Compensation of the generalized spherical aberration components is discussed for the plane-symmetric and anamorphic optical systems. An example compensation rules are derived for the double-plane symmetric optical system containing reflective and refractive subsystems, which focus light in the orthogonal directions at the image plane. An economical anamorphic extension of the Cassegrain-type cylindrical mirror system has been simulated with a ray-tracing code. Anamorphic telescopes of the introduced type provide independent focal distances in the two orthogonal planes allowing to set up a favorable field of view.