This is really scary news for consumers wanting
to purchase a telescope,- because Wavefront Errors accumulate. If the Main
Mirror has an RMS Wavefront Error of 1/14 at 633 nanometers and the Secondary
Mirror has the same RMS Wavefront Error, the telescope will have a total
wavefront error of 1/14 + 1/14 = 2/14 = 1/7 at 633 nanometers. This is the
equivalent of a P-V Wavefront Error of 1/2 at 550 nanometers, which fails the
diffraction limited criterion by a whole order of magnitude.
In fact if the Main Mirror just meets the diffraction
limited criterion, then there is no quality fine enough for the Secondary
Mirror, that will allow the telescope to possess a diffraction limited rating.
Now one might ask: Do any of those fine looking
telescopes advertised to have diffraction limited optics meet the diffraction
limited criterion as a whole system? To meet this criterion, both mirrors
must have an RMS Wavefront Error of 1/28 @633 nanometers or a P-V Wavefront
Error of l/8 @550 nanometers.