Telescope Design — MCQs January 8, 2026August 20, 2025 by u930973931_answers 50 Score: 0 Attempted: 0/50 Subscribe 1. Which component of a telescope is primarily responsible for gathering light? (A) Eyepiece (B) Objective lens or mirror (C) Mount (D) Finder scope 2. Which type of telescope uses lenses to form an image? (A) Reflector (B) Radio telescope (C) Refractor (D) Interferometer 3. Who is credited with building the first refracting telescope in 1608? (A) Galileo Galilei (B) Hans Lippershey (C) Isaac Newton (D) Johannes Kepler 4. What was the main improvement Galileo made to the telescope? (A) Added mirrors (B) Increased magnification (C) Changed mount design (D) Used radio waves 5. Which telescope type uses mirrors instead of lenses to avoid chromatic aberration? (A) Refractor (B) Reflector (C) Compound telescope (D) Schmidt camera 6. Isaac Newton designed the first successful reflecting telescope. What is it called? (A) Cassegrain telescope (B) Newtonian telescope (C) Gregorian telescope (D) Keplerian telescope 7. In a Cassegrain telescope, light is reflected by a secondary mirror onto: (A) The ground (B) The eyepiece at the side (C) A hole in the primary mirror (D) A prism 8. What problem do refracting telescopes often suffer from? (A) Light pollution (B) Chromatic aberration (C) Radio interference (D) Low resolution 9. Which type of telescope combines lenses and mirrors? (A) Radio telescope (B) Compound telescope (C) Refractor (D) Reflector 10. Which design is commonly used in large observatories because it allows big mirrors? (A) Refracting design (B) Reflecting design (C) Radio dish design (D) Interferometric design 11. The world’s largest single-aperture optical telescope uses which design? (A) Newtonian (B) Gregorian (C) Segmented mirror (D) Refracting 12. What is the function of the eyepiece in a telescope? (A) Collects light (B) Focuses radio waves (C) Magnifies the image (D) Balances the mount 13. Which telescope design corrects spherical aberration using a corrector plate? (A) Schmidt-Cassegrain (B) Newtonian (C) Gregorian (D) Galilean 14. Why are large refracting telescopes no longer built? (A) Expensive lenses and sagging glass (B) Mirrors are too light (C) No need for magnification (D) They cannot be mounted 15. Which material is commonly used for modern telescope mirrors? (A) Plastic (B) Quartz or glass with coatings (C) Steel (D) Diamond 16. Adaptive optics in telescope design are used to: (A) Increase aperture size (B) Correct atmospheric distortion (C) Enhance magnification (D) Reduce mirror cost 17. Which telescope was the first major space telescope? (A) Spitzer (B) Hubble (C) Kepler (D) Chandra 18. Radio telescopes collect signals using: (A) Lenses (B) Parabolic dishes (C) Flat mirrors (D) Prisms 19. The resolving power of a telescope depends on: (A) Focal length (B) Aperture size (C) Eyepiece type (D) Mount design 20. Interferometry in telescope design improves: (A) Portability (B) Resolution (C) Color correction (D) Mount balance 21. The primary purpose of a telescope mount is to: (A) Collect light (B) Reduce aberrations (C) Stabilize and track objects (D) Magnify images 22. Which mount design is most commonly used for amateur telescopes? (A) Equatorial (B) Altazimuth (C) Dobsonian (D) Fork 23. The largest refracting telescope ever built is located at: (A) Mount Wilson Observatory (B) Yerkes Observatory (C) Palomar Observatory (D) Greenwich Observatory 24. The primary advantage of space telescopes is: (A) Cheaper construction (B) Avoiding atmospheric distortion (C) Larger lenses (D) Shorter focal length 25. The main function of the focal length in a telescope is to determine: (A) Light-gathering power (B) Magnification and field of view (C) Mount stability (D) Radio frequency range 26. The James Webb Space Telescope uses which design principle? (A) Single refractor lens (B) Segmented mirror (C) Newtonian reflector (D) Dobsonian mount 27. Chromatic aberration occurs because lenses: (A) Do not reflect light (B) Refract colors differently (C) Scatter photons (D) Block radio signals 28. What is the main drawback of using very large telescope mirrors? (A) They break easily (B) They deform under their own weight (C) They cannot reflect light (D) They reduce magnification 29. A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope design is widely used in professional astronomy because: (A) It is portable (B) It reduces optical aberrations (C) It uses only lenses (D) It is inexpensive 30. In telescope design, the term “aperture” refers to: (A) Size of the eyepiece (B) Diameter of the primary lens or mirror (C) Distance to the secondary mirror (D) Mounting system 31. Why are mirrors preferred over lenses in modern large telescopes? (A) Mirrors are lighter and cheaper to build (B) Lenses have no aberrations (C) Mirrors cannot break (D) Lenses cannot magnify 32. The Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory is a: (A) Refractor (B) Reflector (C) Radio telescope (D) Space telescope 33. The term “light-gathering power” of a telescope increases with: (A) Focal length (B) Aperture area (C) Mirror coating (D) Mounting type 34. The Kepler Space Telescope was designed mainly for: (A) Radio astronomy (B) Detecting exoplanets (C) Observing galaxies (D) Gamma-ray astronomy 35. The mount that rotates on two perpendicular axes (altitude and azimuth) is: (A) Equatorial mount (B) Dobsonian mount (C) Altazimuth mount (D) Fork mount 36. Which type of telescope was used in the first direct image of a black hole (Event Horizon Telescope)? (A) Radio telescope array (B) Reflecting telescope (C) Refracting telescope (D) Space telescope 37. Why do professional observatories prefer high-altitude locations? (A) Cheaper land (B) Less atmospheric interference (C) Easy power supply (D) Larger mirrors can be transported 38. In optical telescopes, a secondary mirror is used to: (A) Collect more light (B) Redirect light to a convenient location (C) Magnify the image (D) Reduce chromatic aberration 39. The function of anti-reflective coatings on lenses is to: (A) Increase reflection (B) Reduce light loss (C) Enhance chromatic aberration (D) Stabilize mounts 40. Which telescope design uses a parabolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror? (A) Newtonian (B) Ritchey–Chrétien (C) Gregorian (D) Galilean 41. The term “field of view” in telescope design refers to: (A) The width of the observable sky area (B) The size of the mirror (C) The power of the eyepiece (D) The length of the mount 42. What determines the maximum useful magnification of a telescope? (A) Focal length (B) Mount design (C) Aperture size (D) Eyepiece type 43. Which type of telescope is simplest in design? (A) Galilean refractor (B) Newtonian reflector (C) Schmidt-Cassegrain (D) Ritchey–Chrétien 44. Which telescope design is commonly used by amateur astronomers for portability and large aperture? (A) Newtonian reflector (B) Dobsonian telescope (C) Schmidt-Cassegrain (D) Gregorian 45. Which factor makes space telescopes extremely costly? (A) Small lenses (B) Launch and maintenance in orbit (C) Easy mirror polishing (D) Lightweight mirrors 46. The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is an example of: (A) Refracting telescope (B) Radio telescope (C) Extremely large optical telescope (D) Gamma-ray telescope 47. A telescope with a short focal length will generally provide: (A) Narrow field of view (B) Wide field of view (C) Higher magnification (D) No aberrations 48. Which type of detector is most commonly used in modern telescopes? (A) Photographic plates (B) CCD sensors (C) Human eye (D) Glass slides 49. What is the purpose of segmented mirrors in large telescopes? (A) To reduce chromatic aberration (B) To create larger effective apertures (C) To avoid eyepiece distortion (D) To replace secondary mirrors 50. The Giant Magellan Telescope will use how many large mirrors? (A) 3 (B) 5 (C) 7 (D) 9