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A parabolic reflector has a paraboloidal reflecting surface. The law of reflection makes all incident light rays parallel to its optical axis pass through one focus in ideal geometrical optics. This removes on-axis spherical aberration and explains its use as a receiving antenna for distant sources.

A distant satellite supplies an approximately collimated incident beam. A concave spherical mirror of radius of curvature $R_c=1.5\mathrm{m}$ has paraxial focal length $f_m=R_c/2$. Put the receiving feed at the principal focus, on the optical axis in front of the dish:The radius of curvature relation is a paraxial approximation. A practical dish is usually a parabolic reflector, which focuses an on-axis collimated beam without spherical aberration; a literal spherical dish has spherical aberration, so an exact optimum over its full aperture would need a specified focusing criterion.