Size Matters In the world of telescopes, the sales people see, to try to baffle us with all the bells and whistles of their hottest selling model. One of the big check points that is often pushed is the amplification level of the telescope lens. While that is a factor that is worth noting, when it comes to a telescope lens, the old phrase size matters is a good guideline. In scientific terms light, energy and sound are just a few forms of the same thing, frequencies of energy that are emulating from a source. Now we get to why radio astronomy is so necessary. The range of frequency that light occupies in the big spectrum of frequencies is really pretty small. To put that more bluntly, we can only see a tiny part of the universe that is actually there. Of course space is not infinite. It has to be finite which means somehow there must be an end to it. But conquering the final frontier of space means more than just seeing more stars and planets and building the biggest telescope we can. There are some mind blowing concepts about how space works that we have ahead of us to conquer. While NASA has had many ups and downs, the launch and continued operation of the Hubble space telescope probably ranks next to the moon landings and the development of the Space Shuttle as one of the greatest space exploration accomplishments of the last hundred years. An amazing piece of astronomy trivia that few people know is that in truth, only about ten percent of the universe is visible using conventional methods of observation. Even today, a full moon can have a powerful effect on these forces which we acknowledge even if we cannot explain them scientifically. The most obvious physical phenomenon that is directly affected by the gravity of the moon are the tides of the ocean. The tides are an integral part of how maritime life is regulated and the comings and goings of the fishing world in coastal communities. The first quarter yields the greatest detail of study. And don t be fooled but the blotting out of part of the moon when it is not in full moon stage. The phenomenon known as earthshine gives you the ability to see the darkened part of the moon with some detail as well, even if the moon is only at quarter or half display.