Hartmann mask

Hartmann screen used for the 200-inch (5.1 m) Hale telescope

Using a Hartmann mask to adjust focus

Hartmann mask is a tool to help focusing telescopes, mainly used by amateur astronomers. It is named after the German astronomer Johannes Franz Hartmann (1865–1936), who developed it around 1900.

Theory and practice[]

Every part of a mirror or lens produces the same image as the whole optical element. The light is focused in the focal point. The light rays, however, go through different points of a plane before or behind the focus.

This phenomenon can be used when focusing a telescope. The Hartmann mask is a simple opaque mask containing two or three holes. (This device is called a Hartmann mask if it has multiple holes, or a Scheiner disk if it has two holes.^[1]) The mask covers the aperture of the telescope.

When the apparatus is out of focus, multiple images can be seen if the telescope is pointed towards a bright light source (Moon, bright star). Adjusting the focuser, the images can be made to overlap, forming a single bright, clear picture. The mask may also be used to check the figure of a mirror, as the holes in the mask should all produce the same image.

See also[]

• Bahtinov mask
• Carey mask
• Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor

Notes[]

References[]

• How-to Make a Hartmann Mask
• Hartman Mask Project

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