Simon Plössl (September 19, 1794,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– January 29, 1868, Vienna) was an Austrian

optical instrument An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes, telescopes, and camera ...

maker. Initially trained at the

Voigtländer Voigtländer () was a significant long-established company within the optics and photographic industry, headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany, and today continues as a trademark for a range of photographic products. History Voigtländer was fo ...

company, he set up his own workshop in 1823. His major achievement at the time was the improvement of the achromatic

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...

objective. Today he is best known for the eponymous Plössl telescope eyepiece, which follows his 1860 design and has been used extensively by

amateur astronomers An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

since the 1980s.

External links

Instruments by Simon Georg Plössl

A short biography and some instruments from the Hellenic Archives of Scientific Instruments

Optical engineers People from Wieden 1794 births 1868 deaths Engineers from the Austrian Empire Scientific instrument makers {{Austria-engineer-stub