the part of a telescope that gathers the light from a distant object
Optical telescope The basic scheme is that the primary light-gathering element the objective (1) (the convex lens or concave mirror used to gather the incoming light), focuses that light from the distant object (4) to a focal plane where it forms a real image (5). This image may be recorded or viewed through an eyepiece (2), which acts like a magnifying glass. The eye (3) then sees an inverted magnified virtual image (6) of the object.