Part of the exclusive new CAEZIK Notable line of books. Many of Heinlein's fans consider the novels he wrote in the fifties amongst the author's strongest work; when he was at the peak of his talents. Double Star is considered by many to be the finest of his titles. Brian Aldiss called it his "most enjoyable novel." Whether it is the simplicity of a lively tale, the complexity of the situation, or the depth of characterization, the book has developed a loyal following. It also won Heinlein his first Hugo. The story revolves around Lawrence Smith--also known as "Lorenzo the Great"--a down-and-out actor wasting the remainder of his life in bars. When he encounters a space-pilot who offers him a drink, before he knows what is going on, he is on Mars involved in a deep conspiracy with global consequences. He is given a mission where failure would not only mean his own death, it would almost certainly mean an all-out planetary war. "Heinlein's novels of the 1940s and 50s shaped every single science fiction writer of my generation and everyone currently writing science fiction. Or making science fiction movies ... and Double Star is an excellent example of all the reasons why."--Connie Willis CAEZIK Notables is a new line of science fiction and fantasy titles that have had a significant impact on their respective genre. Each book has a unique place in the development of speculative fiction. Every title published under the CAEZIK notables line will have a matching cover set and will carry an introduction by an expert in the field.

Modern telescopes of even modest aperture can show thousands of double stars. Many are faint and unremarkable but hundreds are worth searching out. Veteran double-star observer Bob Argyle and his co-authors take a close-up look at their selection of 175 of the night sky's most interesting double and multiple stars. The history of each system is laid out from the original discovery to what we know at the present time about the stars. Wide-field finder charts are presented for each system along with plots of the apparent orbits and predicted future positions for the orbital systems. Recent measurements of each system are included which will help you to decide whether they can be seen in your telescope, as well as giving advice on the aperture needed. Double star observers of all levels of experience will treasure the level of detail in this guide to these jewels of the night sky.

Written specially for practical amateur astronomers who not only want to observe, but want to know and understand the details of exactly what they are looking at. Presents an up-to-date detailed description of the objects, their physics and their evolution (part one); and then (part two) to consider how to observe and record them successfully. Delivers a wealth of information for all levels of amateur observers, from the beginner to the experienced; it is equally fascinating for practical astronomers, and also for those who simply want to find out more about these unusual star systems.

This catalog of dounle stars is among the most comprehensive ever printed. With over 2,100 star pairings listed with coordinates, color, and interesting information about every pair, Double Stars for Small Telescopes is an essential addition to the library of every astronomy enthusiast. 248 pages, 8 1/2 x 11 invhes, softcover.

From the reviews: "I recommend it to anyone with an interest in binary stars who wants to learn more about these fascinating objects." (Jocelyn Tomkin, The Observatory, April 2005)

"Observing Visual Double Stars, " written by an astronomer who has discovered almost 2,000 of them, opens the way to amateur astronomers who wish to make a direct and real contribution to science through their avocation.Double or binary stars--pairs of stars that revolve around one another--were once thought to be rare, anomalies among the vast number of normal, isolated stars, like our sun. Now, however, it is believed that many if not "most" stars are mated in binary systems. The visual binaries are those whose component stars are rather distant from each other and require decades or even centuries to complete their orbits. Few professional astronomers devote their time to making the observations needed, over these extended periods, to determine the characteristics of even a small sample of these systems. Thus, if any sizable number of double stars are to be closely scrutinized, their periodic variations plotted, and their orbits and masses calculated, the host of amateur astronomers will have to come to the aid of the professionals by making patient, systematic, night-after-night, year-after-year recorded observations."Observing Visual Double Stars" is designed to train amateurs to become such lookouts. After a historical account of the discovery of binaries (from the sighting of the first in 1650, through the work of the Herschels and the Struves in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to the present), the author describes the various classes of telescopes and other instruments and the relevant optical principles. This is followed by practical advice on how to use this apparatus to identify double stars and measure their variations over time.The heart of the book--and its technically most advanced section--presents the mathematical techniques that will allow the observer to calculate orbits and masses from the variables that have been measured. A chapter entitled "Voyage to the Country of Double Stars" describes a binary system as it might appear to an observer within it. The book also explains the use of star catalogues and presents its own catalogue of 744 double stars accessible to the amateur observer.

When Cepheus, a dark god, forces seventeen-year-old Ally Ashworth off an isolated overlook, she has no idea she's falling into his world, or that the necklace she's wearing is actually a key--one with the power to ignite the next world war. But she's carried beyond his reach and into the one place where he's powerless... the forest of Gilgamesh. Ally's never been Miss Popularity, but her outsider status takes on new meaning when she's rescued by Liam Cheveyo and his peculiar friends. After seeing them shape-shift into their freaky animal counterparts, Ally smacks hard into a few truths--magic really does exist and, although getting there took no effort, finding her way back might be impossible. Feelings between her and Liam begin to grow along with the realization that, in this world, she's stronger and better... until she's caught in a trap set by the creepy spider-boy Cepheus sends to retrieve her. But Ally's not going down without a fight, not after learning the horrible truth about the passageways. The survival of both worlds depends on it.