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telescopes

  • plural
    of telescope.
    telescope
    noun
    an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms refracting telescope, or refractor consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form reflecting telescope, or reflector has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed.
  • present tense form
    of telescope (3rd person singular).
    telescope
    noun
    an optical instrument for making distant objects appear larger and therefore nearer. One of the two principal forms refracting telescope, or refractor consists essentially of an objective lens set into one end of a tube and an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses set into the other end of a tube that slides into the first and through which the enlarged object is viewed directly; the other form reflecting telescope, or reflector has a concave mirror that gathers light from the object and focuses it into an adjustable eyepiece or combination of lenses through which the reflection of the object is enlarged and viewed.

Example Sentences

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She described a Concord hotel as serving “Walden water, aesthetic tea” and “Orphic acorns by the peck,” and offering telescopes for “the gifted eyes which desire to watch the songs of the oversoul.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 14, 2026

It had an observatory and planetarium and featured custom-built domes, specialized solar-observation telescopes, and a natural science education centre.

From BBC Aug. 13, 2026

Some had waited all afternoon in sweltering heat beneath the scant shade of umbrellas, while others, the best prepared, had set up their telescopes.

From Barron's Aug. 12, 2026

Organisers said they would be there from 17:00 with their telescopes and would help people view the eclipse at the free event.

From BBC Aug. 11, 2026

The total amount of energy from outside the solar system ever received by all the radio telescopes on the planet Earth is less than the energy of a single snowflake striking the ground.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan