whereas a reflecting telescope uses to gather light refracting telescope uses

mirrors, lenses

uses ??? to gather light?

http://www.dummies.com/education/science/astronomy/reflecting-vs-refracting-stargazing-telescopes/

A reflecting telescope uses mirrors to gather and focus light, while a refracting telescope uses lenses.

To better understand how these telescopes work, let's break it down:

Reflecting Telescope:
A reflecting telescope consists of a mirror at the bottom or the end of the telescope tube called the primary mirror. This mirror collects the incoming light and reflects it towards a smaller, secondary mirror. The secondary mirror then directs the light towards the eyepiece or a camera, where it can be observed or recorded. The shape and curvature of the mirrors determine how the light is focused.

To see why a reflecting telescope uses mirrors, you can try a simple experiment. Take a flashlight and shine it onto a mirror. You will notice that the mirror reflects the light, bouncing it off in a specific direction. This principle is utilized in reflecting telescopes to collect and focus light from distant celestial objects.

Refracting Telescope:
On the other hand, a refracting telescope uses lenses to gather and focus light. A refracting telescope consists of a large, primary lens at the front of the telescope tube. As light enters the telescope through this lens, it bends or refracts the light. The bending of the light rays helps to bring it to a focus point, where it can be viewed or recorded using an eyepiece or camera.

To intuitively understand how a refracting telescope works, think about the lenses in glasses. Glasses use curved lenses to bend and focus light so that the human eye can see objects more clearly. Similarly, a refracting telescope uses lenses, which are specially shaped pieces of glass or other transparent materials, to bring incoming light to a focal point.

In summary, reflecting telescopes use mirrors to collect and focus light, while refracting telescopes use lenses to gather and focus light.