A telescope is a tool that astronomers use to see faraway objects. Most telescopes, and all large telescopes, work by using curved mirrors to gather and focus light from the night sky. ... The bigger the mirrors or lenses, the more light the telescope can gather. Light is then concentrated by the shape of the optics.

How is the telescope used today?

Telescopes have also helped us understand gravity and other fundamental laws of the physical world. ... Some new telescopes allow us to study objects in the universe by detecting the heat or radio waves or X-rays they emit. Telescopes are now discovering planets around other stars.

How does a telescope magnify?

A simple telescope, called a refractpor, has two lenses. The large one collects the light from a distant objects and amplifies it so that the image is much brighter than what the eye normally sees. ... A second lens is placed at the focus of the Objective and provides the magnification you need to study the objects.