We have been peering deep into the space by using the observatories positioned at various locations all over the world.
Most of the sophisticated observatories have been built in the Atacama desert of Chile which is regarded as the world capital of astronomy. NASA and other space agencies have sent telescopes like Hubble and Spitzer into space to capture unprecedented views of the galaxies.
A more powerful space telescope, James Webb Space Telescope will be launched next year. It will help us in studying the atmospheres of habitable planets found outside our solar system. But it just not enough. Scientists feel we should broaden the scope of stargazing by placing a telescope on the moon.
It offers a few key advantages. On Earth, you stargaze at night. But on the moon, night lasts half a month. There is no atmosphere there to distort images or block out parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
But there are few disadvantages also. The lack of a real atmosphere also means the moon heats up and cools much faster than the Earth. Temperature swings between 125 degrees C (above the boiling point of water) to -150 C. The moon is also covered in dust.These conditions will hamper telescope's smooth operation.
Even so, the advantages are so enormous that scientists are drawing up ambitious plans to use the lunar surface to study the universe. China has tested a small lunar telescope.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is exploring possibilities of setting up a telescope on moon as part of enhancing its scientific observation capacity.