Panoramic lens.

An infrared panoramic lens system that utilizes two lens groups to project a full 3600 cylindrical field of view onto a two-dimensional annular format is described. Each lens group has its well-defined role. The first group is a lens block that converts a cylindrical field of view into a two-dimensional annular format located within the lens itself, and the second group relays this image to some accessible location downstream from the optical system.