A reflecting telescope uses a curved mirror to concentrate the light from distant stars, and is a very useful technique. There are very clever techniques and technicians, which can produce a mirror perfect over all its area, to within part of the wavelength of light!!
The alternative method of using a glass lens, suffers from various difficulties, such as distortion and loss of light.
You do not ordinarily consider focus in an astronomical telescope, for all the stellar objects are essentially at infinity.
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 you are referring to is likely a refracting telescope. In a refracting telescope, light enters through an objective lens which bends the light rays to a focal point where the image is formed. This type of telescope is commonly used in astronomy and for terrestrial viewing.
A refracting telescope uses a lens to bend or refract light, focusing it to create an image at the eyepiece. The objective lens captures and bends light to form an image at the focal point, which is then magnified by the eyepiece for observation.
It depends on the type of reflecting telescope.
A reflecting telescope is an optical telescope which uses mirrors to bring the light to a focus. The first one was designed by Isaac newton.
One advantage of reflecting telescopes is that the mirrors can be very big. Large mirrors allow reflecting telescopes to gather more light than refracting telescopes do. Another advantage is that curved mirrors are polished on their curved side, which prevents light from entering the glass. Thus any flaws in the glass do not affect the light. A third advantage is that mirrors can focus all colors of light to the same focal point. Therefore, reflecting telescopes allow all colors of light from an object to be seen in focus at the same time.
One advantage of reflecting telescopes is that the mirrors can be very big. Large mirrors allow reflecting telescopes to gather more light than refracting telescopes do. Another advantage is that curved mirrors are polished on their curved side, which prevents light from entering the glass. Thus any flaws in the glass do not affect the light. A third advantage is that mirrors can focus all colors of light to the same focal point. Therefore, reflecting telescopes allow all colors of light from an object to be seen in focus at the same time.
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 you are referring to is likely a refracting telescope. In a refracting telescope, light enters through an objective lens which bends the light rays to a focal point where the image is formed. This type of telescope is commonly used in astronomy and for terrestrial viewing.
It gathers the light coming from an object.
One advantage of reflecting telescopes is that the mirrors can be very big. Large mirrors allow reflecting telescopes to gather more light than refracting telescopes do. Another advantage is that curved mirrors are polished on their curved side, which prevents light from entering the glass. Thus any flaws in the glass do not affect the light. A third advantage is that mirrors can focus all colors of light to the same focal point. Therefore, reflecting telescopes allow all colors of light from an object to be seen in focus at the same time.
A refracting telescope uses a lens to bend or refract light, focusing it to create an image at the eyepiece. The objective lens captures and bends light to form an image at the focal point, which is then magnified by the eyepiece for observation.
A refracting telescope uses a series of lenses to magnify the light - like a simple spyglass, or a pair of binoculars. A reflecting telescope uses a concave mirror to gather light, which comes to focus at a point somewhere out in front of the mirror. It is then reflected sideways by another mirror into an eyepiece, which magnifies it. A refractor gives a bigger, but dimmer view of the distant object. A reflector gives a smaller, but brighter view of it.
It depends on the type of reflecting telescope.
Light. Quantum particles impeding on an object. Electromagnetic waves striking an object.
Magnify images
The nominal function of any telescope is to enlarge the image of a distant object and that is the same for reflecting or refracting or hybrid telescopes. That said, it is a better description of a telescope to say it is a light collector that brings into an image (on the eye or photo sensor of the user) the light that is given off by some distant object. The aperture of a telescope is much much larger than the aperture (iris) of the human eye, so whatever object is being viewed is producing light an a much greater quantity of light is entering the telescope than would be entering the eye. More light allows the image being viewed to be enlarged and still visible to the human eye.