Isaac Newten
Isaac Newton's
Isaac Newton in 1668 (courtesy of Wikipedia).
One end of a reflecting telescope is the big hole pointed at the star. The other end of the reflecting telescope has a lens called an eyepiece.
A reflecting telescope has both magnifying mirrors and lenses to focus the image on the eyepiece. A refracting telescope uses only lenses to magnify and focus. A reflecting telescope can be much smaller, because the light can travel through the barrel of the telescope several times, being magnified with each reflection. This is why most large modern telescopes are reflectors.
A refracting telescope is a type of telescope that has a large thin lense at the front and a smaller thicker lense at the end where the eyepiece is. Refracting telescopes use lenses unlike reflecting telescopes that use mirrors to reflect the light. This is a good image of a refracting and reflecting telescope: [See related link]
The Telescope Inventor, Hans Lippershey, was believed to have been in his 40s when he made the telescope around 1608.
They are much shorter than refracting telescopes, hence, much cheaper to buy and easier to transport.
"To build a large refracting telescope would require very strong supports to hold large enough lenses. These supports would tend to block out important light. So the refracting telescope is limited in its use. Today most large telescopes are reflecting telescopes." ~ BYU Home Study Astronomy course
Isaac Newton invented the reflecting telescope.
In front of the mirror
In front of the mirror
A reflector telescope collects light with a mirror. The mirror is located at the back of the telescope and reflects the incoming light to a focal point where it is then collected by an eyepiece for viewing.