Maybe it s all the science fiction stories about visiting the moon, Mars and other planets. But we love to think about those planets that make up what we call the solar system. that do what our planet does but do it very differently indeed. The planets of our solar system have taken on personalities and mythical appeal in our literature and arts. Other than the Olympic movement, international cooperation to achieve great strides for human kind in space seems to go forward without interruption even when the nations cooperating in those projects are virtually at war back on the surface of the earth. It is a strange thing to watch as Russian, American and other astronauts work together like brothers on space missions even as their home nations are busily pointing missiles at each other back at home. But these things are happening because of completely explainable scientific laws in motion, not because of mystical forces at work. What can we, as devotees of astronomy conclude about the close relationship between astrology and astronomy? Well, for sure we want to be able to explain to anyone who is confused by the similarity in the words what the differences are. You want your telescope to have good collimation so you are not getting a false image of the celestial body. - Aperture is a fancy word for how big the lens of your telescope is. But it s an important word because the aperture of the lens is the key to how powerful your telescope is. Magnification has nothing to do with it, its all in the aperture. When you find that quiet park, field or lake side spot, all you have to do is point up and say just look and the magnificence of the night sky will do the rest. - A special Christmas gift. You can buy your children an affordable and durable beginner s telescope along with some easy star maps written just for kids. The thing that is most exciting about studying the universe is also the most frustrating and that is that no matter how expert we get, we are always just getting started. But if it s any consolation, some of the most advanced minds in science and from history always felt that way about space. Even the greats such as Copernicus and Einstein looked up into space and felt like they were just a spec in the presence of such infinity.