There is a parallel with astronomy and music: to enter upon the visual experience of looking deep within the night sky one must employ an instrument. Like a fine musical instrument, the telescopic instrument is hand built and consists of a large, long tube and bits of finely crafted wood and metals. There is a balance bar, and the need for tuning of the mirrors. The reed of this instrument is glass, and the result it creates, the fruit of the mechanism and it's various precisely aligned components, is visual instead of aural. Just as a great musical instrument can create a moving experience, so can the view through a great telescope.