Wiki / Lenses / Telescope (lens pair)

Telescope (lens pair)

Applies two thin lenses separated by their focal lengths.

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In the real world

An afocal telescope pairs two lenses a distance f₁ + f₂ apart so that parallel rays in produce parallel rays out — no net focusing power, just a change in beam diameter and angular magnification. A Keplerian telescope uses two convex lenses and has a real, inverted intermediate image at the shared focus between them; a Galilean telescope uses a convex objective and a concave eyepiece, stays upright, and needs no space for an intermediate image — the arrangement behind classic opera glasses and compact laser beam expanders.

M=f1f2M = -\frac{f_1}{f_2}
Angular magnification — negative for the inverted Keplerian case (both lenses convex), positive and upright when f₂ is negative (Galilean).

In OpticalSetup

Two independent lens surfaces, each applying the same paraxial ray-transfer relation, separated by exactly f₁ + f₂ — the afocal spacing shown by the dashed centerline through the icon. Either lens's focal length can be set negative independently, so the same element models both configurations: two positive focal lengths gives a Keplerian telescope with a real crossing point in the middle, while a negative second focal length gives a Galilean telescope that never focuses the beam down to a point at all.

Simplified vs. reality

Same paraxial-only physics as a single lens, with no eyepiece field-of-view limits, eye relief, or exit-pupil modeling — just the afocal geometry and magnification.

Related components

Further reading