Many objects aren't extremely small, but they are often very faint. The greater a telescopes diameter the more light it can collect, and the brighter objects will appear in the eyepiece. Refractors have a lens in front and an eyepiece in the back. Reflectors have a special curved mirror in the bottom of the telescope and usually an eyepiece at the top, but sometimes at the bottom. The curved mirror reflects the light to a focus near the eyepiece.
Some reflectors are easy and fun to build.
Here are detailed plans on building a Dobsonian Reflector . Compound telescopes use both a lens and mirrors to make the image, the eyepiece is usually at the back. Compound telescopes are usually very short in relation to their diameter. A compound telescope is a reflector with a lens in front that makes the stars at the edge of the field of view appear very crisp and sharp. Each type of telescope has its advantages.