Which type of telescope uses lenses to bend light to form an image?

• A. Reflecting telescope
• B. Refracting telescope
• C. Radio telescope
• D. Space telescope

Answer: (B)

Lenses bend light to form an image. A refracting telescope uses this bending, or refraction, with a pair of lenses: a objective lens gathers light from a distant object and bends it so the rays converge to create a clear image, which the eyepiece then magnifies. This design relies on the way glass changes the direction of light as it passes through, a phenomenon called refraction.

In other telescope types, the light is handled differently. A reflecting telescope uses mirrors to collect and focus light, not lenses. A radio telescope is designed to detect radio waves with a large dish, focusing on wavelengths much longer than visible light. A space telescope describes where the telescope is located, not how it focuses light, though many space telescopes use mirrors for light-gathering. So the option that uses lenses to bend light to form an image is the refracting telescope.