Definition:
An optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer, containing an arrangement of lenses, or of curved mirrors and lenses, by which rays of light are collected and focused and the resulting image magnified.
Examples:
The Hubble Space Telescope (present)
The Spitzer Space Telescope (present)
The James Webb Space Telescope (future)
More at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/astrophysics/mission_list
Brief explanation of how telescopes work:
Telescopes originated when scientists discovered the properties of light to stray from its original path as it passes from one medium to another, also known as refraction. This ability of a lens to redirect light to a desired point is what lies behind the basic telescope invention.
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