Curved mirror

A mirror whose reflecting surface curves inward or outward, changing the direction and convergence of reflected light. Its main forms are concave and convex mirrors.

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Law of reflection: The rule that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence, measured from the surface normal. Each point on a curved surface reflects light according to this local geometric rule.
Geometric optics: The model of light as rays that travel along paths and obey reflection and refraction rules. Curved-mirror diagrams and image predictions use its ray-based approximation.
Reflecting telescope: A telescope that uses one or more mirrors to collect and focus light. Its primary concave mirror gathers faint light without the chromatic aberration of a lens.
Plane mirror: A mirror with a flat reflecting surface that forms an upright virtual image of the same size as its object. Unlike a curved mirror, it does not make parallel rays converge or diverge.
Concave mirror: A spherical or aspherical mirror whose reflecting surface curves inward. Its inward curvature can bring parallel rays to a real focus.
Principal axis: The line through an optical system’s center of symmetry and its principal points. Mirror diagrams locate the pole, focus, and center of curvature along this reference line.
Newtonian telescope: A reflecting telescope that uses a concave primary mirror and a small diagonal secondary mirror. It is a simple, widely used arrangement built around a curved primary mirror.
Refracting telescope: A telescope that collects and focuses light primarily with lenses. It uses refraction rather than a curved reflecting surface for its main focusing element.
Convex mirror: A mirror whose reflecting surface bulges outward toward the object. Its outward curvature spreads reflected rays and produces a virtual image.
Center of curvature: The center of the sphere of which a spherical mirror forms a section. Its distance from the mirror sets the radius that determines the focal length.