• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / Why Was the Telescope Invented and What Are Optical Telescopes Used For?

Why Was the Telescope Invented and What Are Optical Telescopes Used For?

February 23, 2020 by Karen Hill

Most of what we know about the universe comes from the study of light from space objects.

The general purpose of a telescope is to gather light from objects in the sky, making them larger, brighter, and clearer so that we can study them in detail.

Two major types of optical telescopes are used to view space.

The refracting telescope uses lenses.

The reflecting telescope has mirrors instead of lenses.

Related Facts

  • How Does a Simple Refracting Telescope Work and When Was the Cassegrain Reflecting Telescope Invented?
  • How Does a Telescope Work?
  • How Does a Reflecting Telescope Work and Who Invented the Reflecting Telescope?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • How do astronomers know where one galaxy ends and another galaxy begins?
  • How Did Isaac Newton’s Study of Optics Lead To the Invention of the Reflecting Telescope?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Factors Determine the Power of an Optical Telescope and Why Is the Diameter of the Lens Important?
Next Post: How Does a Simple Refracting Telescope Work and When Was the Cassegrain Reflecting Telescope Invented? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy