* Astronomy

For those interested in the optical design side of astronomy, the latest version of the free lens design programs, PreDesigner & WinLens 4.3, are now available at www.winlens.de/.
There are two main enhancements to Winlens 4.3:

- Import/Export lens files - OpTaliX format added to CodeV, OSLO,
Sigma & Zemax formats
- Seidels bar graph. Plots surface by surface Seidels contributions in bargraph format. Your choice of aberrations, and system data & paraxial ray trace quantities. Options to show cumulative Seidels or sensitivities. This provides great insight into where and how particular aberrations arise in a system - much clearer than the alternative table.

The PreDesigner utility (for basic layout) now has an interactive version of the Warren Smith aperture v field plot - showing regions for the main lens/mirror families, along with graphics of sample designs.

Manuals are available (free) for both in PDF format