Question

What are the similarities between the operation of a radio telescope and that of an optical reflecting telescope?

Answer 1

They both intercept,focus and determine the intensity of an incoming radiation but at different degree.

Step-by-step explanation:

Radio telescope is much larger than optical telescope because radio wavelengths are much longer than optical wavelengths. The longer the wavelengths implies that the radio waves has a lower energy than optical light waves. So, in order to collect enough radio photons to detect a signal, the radio dishes must be very large.