Definitions of Reflector and Refractor.
Royal Observatory Greenwich
in the UK has a
nice collection of
leaflets, including one on
that discusses several types of telescopes if you would like to know
more. (It even mentions Yerkes!)
- Refracting telescopes use lenses to gather light.
(Lenses refract, or bend, the light.) Whether or not Galileo
actually developed the first refracting telescope, he was certainly
the first one to turn such a device on the stars. (He might have gotten
the device from regional merchants.)
The Yerkes 40-inch refractor is the largest refracting telescope in the
- Reflecting telescopes use mirrors to gather light.
(Mirrors reflect the light.)
Reflectors were developed by Sir Isaac Newton in the 17th century.
The mirrors in these telescopes are curved and shallow.
There are several reasons why most modern
research telescopes (and the biggest telescopes) are reflectors.
Strobel's site has a nice article about telescopes.
Continue the tour: Go to the Yerkes grounds
and look around outside.
Content originally generated in March 1995.
This file was last modified on 19 April 2000.