

Refracting telescopes differ from reflecting telescopes in that they use lenses instead of mirrors to gather and project light to the eyepiece.


One of the most famous examples of a reflecting telescope is the Hubble Telescope, which weighs roughly 27,000 pounds and features a mirror that is nearly eight feet in diameter! Once the light bounces off the bowl-shaped mirror, it gets reflected to a secondary mirror, and then sent to the eyepiece, which is where you’ll put your eye in order to observe the target image. Simply put, a reflector reflects.Īlthough these types of telescopes can vary in size and complexity, the basic makeup and use of the reflector is the same: There is a bowl-shaped (concave) mirror positioned at the bottom of the telescope, and a large opening at the other end that allows light to enter. Reflecting TelescopeĪs its name implies, a reflecting telescope utilises curved mirrors in order to reflect the observed image back to your eye. The two most common types of telescopes on the market are reflector and refractor telescopes, but what exactly are they, and how do they differ? Below is a description of each type of telescope to help you determine which one would be the best fit for your needs. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about taking up the fun hobby of stargazing, but you’re not quite sure which telescope would be the best one to use.
