Astronomy in the 18th Century Discusses the development of reflective telescopes during the 1700's. Covers the different types of mirrors and lens that were used during these times. Includes some key contributors to the improvement of the telescope during this period.
Reflecting Telescope A reflecting telescope (reflector) is an optical telescope which uses mirrors, rather than lenses, to reflect light. The British scientist Sir Isaac Newton designed the first reflector circa 1670. He designed the reflector in order to solve the problem of chromatic aberration, a serious degradation in all refracting telescopes before the perfection of achromatic lenses. The traditional two-mirrored reflector is known as a Newtonian reflector.