Moon Struck

I love looking at the moon.  A lot of folks who look through telescopes are most excited when there is a "new moon" which means there is no moon visible during the night.  The light of the moon tends to wash out the light of distant nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.  In other words, the darker the night sky the better.

But, God made the moon as the lesser light to rule the night.  There is nothing quite like a full moon on a clear night when the ground is covered with snow.  And when the moon is waxing, like it was like week when I took this photo, it shows amazing detail along the lunar limb - the edge of the visible surface.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and look at some of the detail.  Some have even photographed lunar impacts - an amazing feat.  

Neil Armstrong died this past weekend.  I remember clearly where I was when he stepped onto the surface of the moon.  It was a long way from Melder, Louisiana to Tranquility Base.  But, somehow, there was a connection - a human one.  A man was on another planet.  You cannot see what is left of his lunar lander through my telescope.  But, you can see the mare where he and Buzz landed.  And, you can try to  imagine what it must have been like to step onto its surface.  

Go out and look up.  The moon is a wonderful sight to behold. Sometimes God's greatest creations are too easily overlooked.