What term describes an arrangement of lenses and mirrors that gathers and magnifies visible light for observing distant objects?

The term that describes an arrangement of lenses and mirrors designed to gather and magnify visible light in order to observe distant objects is a telescope. Telescopes utilize specific optical components such as lenses (in refracting telescopes) or mirrors (in reflecting telescopes) to collect light from astronomical objects and converge it to form an image. This allows astronomers to make detailed observations of celestial bodies such as stars, planets, and galaxies that are far away from Earth.

In contrast, microscopes are instruments designed for observing very small objects or details that are not visible to the naked eye, such as cells or microorganisms, by magnifying them. Binoculars are essentially two telescopes joined together, used primarily for viewing distant objects with both eyes, providing depth perception, but they are not specifically categorized as telescopes. Periscopes allow a viewer to see objects that are not in their direct line of sight, commonly used in submarines, but they do not primarily serve the purpose of gathering and magnifying distant astronomical objects like a telescope.