The Stars

The starry sky on a clear night in a really dark place is uniquely magical. We can only imagine how our ancestors must have marveled at the night sky in the days before artificial lighting made it nearly impossible for many people to see any but the brightest stars. With this book, anyone can find out about the stars. Once you know some of their names and how to recognize constellations, what seem like random star patterns become a picture book in the sky. You will want to look up at night to see what you can recognize—Orion the Hunter, perhaps, the Great Bear, or the Heavenly Twins. However, there is more to the stars than a beautiful sky. There’s a story to tell about how stars are born and change through their lives, ending as exotic white dwarfs, neutron stars, or stellar black holes. Stars light up glowing nebulae, huddle together in clusters, harbor families of planets and populate a universe of galaxies. And you will find all about it here. I became fascinated by the night sky as a young child. As I grew up, my curiosity about science grew too. I wanted to know more and more about the stars and the Universe so I became an astronomer. But the stars are there for all of us to discover. Read on!