What feature distinguishes a typical reflecting telescope?

A typical reflecting telescope is distinguished by its use of a curved mirror to gather and focus light. This design allows for the collection of light from celestial objects, which is then focused to produce a clear image. The curved mirror's shape is specifically designed to reflect light towards a focal point, making it effective for astronomical observations.

Reflecting telescopes generally avoid chromatic aberration, which can occur in refracting telescopes that utilize lenses. This is because mirrors reflect all wavelengths of light uniformly without the color distortions that lenses can introduce. The primary advantage of using a curved mirror is that it can achieve larger apertures compared to lenses, allowing for more light collection and enabling the telescope to observe faint objects in space.

Other choices relate to different aspects of telescopes or other optical systems but do not embody the essential feature that distinguishes a reflecting telescope as effectively as the utilization of a curved mirror.