Suppose a large refracting telescope and a large reflecting telescope have the same diameter primary. What can you conclude about the difference between the two telescopes?
A) The refracting telescope will have a greater light-collecting power than the reflecting telescope.
B) The refracting telescope will have a longer focal length than the reflecting telescope.
C) The refracting telescope will have less resolving power than the reflecting telescope.
D) The refracting telescope will suffer from more optical distortion than the reflecting telescope.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Refracting telescopes suffer from chromatic aberration, a type of optical distortion, due to the dispersion of light through lenses, whereas reflecting telescopes use mirrors and do not have this issue.

Suppose a Large Refracting Telescope and a Large Reflecting Telescope