Crossword Genius

I'm told TV range's something Dr. Arroway might've looked into (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

telescope

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'something dr arroway might've looked into' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'i'm told tv range's' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'range' could be 'scope' (synonyms) and 'scope' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tele' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for telescope that I've seen before include "Optical instrument magnifying distant objects" , "contract" , "Shrink - optical instrument" , "Glass" , "optical equipment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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