Vega Constellation

Tonight was my first night out for a while, I think the weather has been pretty terrible lately, or when it has been a clear night I have been doing something else, like my photography evening class.

Anyway tonight I went out and decided to try out my homemade camera mount, which is on top of my guide scope.

I chose Vega for some reason, probably because I watched the film Contact the other night for the first time, and the signals from space came from Vega in the film.

I took a 30 second exposure on a 1600 ISO setting, using about 200mm lens, click on the image to enlarge it.

The Brightest Stars Book Review

 The Brightest Stars book is all about twenty-one of the brightest stars visible from Earth. The Brightest Stars instructs you how to find the stars and the best way to see them.

Each section about each star contains information about the history of the star and legends that are connected with each star. There are also information on star distances, mass and composition. The book also includes star charts.

The Brightest Stars begins with a chapter on stars in the sky which asks the question How Bright is Bright? There is also information on the locations and yearly motions and names of the stars. The final part is about how to see stars better when looking at the skies, using your eyes and telescopes.

Chapter two is entitled Stars in the Universe which includes parts, structure, distances, and motions of stars in the universe, as well as the varieties of stars and the lives and death of stars.

The following stars are contained within the book; Sirius, Canopus, Alpha Centauri, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Rigel, Procyon, Achernar, Betelgeuse, Beta Centauri, Alpha Crucis, Altair, Aldebaran, Spica, Antares, Pollux, Fomalhaut, Beta Crucis, Deneb and Regulus.

There are six appendices in total and a glossary in the book; with the appendices you get the positions of the stars via RA and Dec co-ordinates as well as magnitude measurements. You also get the masses of the stars and a list of the 200 brightest stars. There are also many other star information tables in the appendices.

The Brightest Stars is a great book if you want to learn a lot more about stars (obviously), the books images are in black and white though but it is nice that each star is given it’s own section which makes the book easier to read.

The Brightest Stars is available at Waterstones

Apollo Saturn V Model

Get up to speed with the Apollo Saturn V, the American rocket that blasted the three lunar explorers to the Moon.

This stunning Revell 1:96 scale replica is a life-like model that includes launch platform and supports, plus four paints, double ended brush and precision applicator glue for detailed decoration.

What a great model for someone this Christmas. I know it would take me quite a while to complete this model, probably last all Christmas into the New Year.

Buy the Saturn V Model Rocket

If you are interested in this type of space model, then there are lots of others in the Revell model range including:

• Apollo Spacecraft and Interior
• Apollo Columbia and Eagle
• Apollo Astronaut
• Eagle Lunar Module Model