Getting To Know Your Stars

GAZING at the stars is a good way to forget your own troubles and reduce those of the world you live in to manageable size.

For people in the Southern Hemisphere who have not done much of this sort of thing in the past, but would like to start, The Southern Sky-Astronomy Through Your Own Eyes, will help considerably. It is written by Harley Wood, Government Astronomer for New South Wales.

The book is largely a guide to star recognition, designed for use in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere. It can, however, be read just as an up-to date book on astronomy, written in language that the normally in telligent layman can understand.

The key to the proper use of the book lies in six star maps that cover 12 months of star-gazing into Southern skies. With these it is comparatively easy to re cognise the constellations and brighter stars, even with the naked eye. From this point on, most people will find themselves hooked into deeper and longer expeditions into the night heavens.

Man has always been intrigued by the mystery of the stars but perhaps never so much as in the present age of artificial satellites and the beginnings of space ex ploration. For South Pacific readers this book is a good ground ing in all aspects of extra-ter restrial exploration both the ancient and modern varieties.—JT.

(The Southern Sky. Angus &

Robertson Ltd. 18/6).