Do you sometimes look up into the night sky and wonder if all those tiny pinpricks of light you see flickering across the heavens were intended to serve some purpose other than a mere "celestial light show" for our enjoyment?

Do you think about the far distant future for us humans living here on Earth? Do you imagine that some day humankind will leave this planet and venture out into the vast universe, heading toward the nearby stars in search of other worlds that may be just like this beautiful Earth of ours?

Do you imagine such a journey will ever take place, knowing the immense distances that would be involved to bridge the gulf to even our nearest stars? Do you wonder what kind of a ship will be most plausible to sail such a vast emptiness across the interstellar dark stretching out into eternity in every direction you care to look?

If you can answer 'yes' to some of the above questions, then my book First Ark to Alpha Centauri is probably for you.

OFF TOPIC - I AM NOTING HERE A FEW OF MY BINARY STAR DISCOVERIES IN THE PAST 3 YEARS:


May 2009:
Abdul Ahad reported he has identified 5 new pairs of common proper motion binary systems strewn across the northern constellations of Hercules, Cepheus, Lacerta and Vulpecula. These have not been previously catalogued in double star lists in the astronomical community, and therefore constitute new discoveries. HD 213128 / BD+51 3386 in constellation Lacerta (V mags 8.88, 9.88, rho 37.6”, spectral type A0 V / A0 V), HD 344698 / HD 344697 in constellation Vulpecula (V mags 10.01, 10.18, rho 22.9”, spectral type A7 V / A7 V), HIP 104969 / BD+67 1298 in constellation Cepheus (V mags 7.91, 9.35, rho 54.0”, spectral type F0 / G5 V), BD+36 3014 / BD+36 3014p in constellation Hercules (V mags 9.44, 10.16, rho 48.7”, spectral type F2 V / K0 V). 


Ahad further identified a 10.5 magnitude reddish companion to the 8th magnitude M0 dwarf BD+16 3495 in Hercules. This appears to be a secondary binary companion to BD+16 3495, having shifted by about 10 arcseconds over the past 50 years in relation to the primary star, with a current separation (rho) of some 20 arcseconds. Binarity cannot be verified at present, however, due to lack of sufficient astrometric data.










Other identifiers for these newly discovered binary pairs are (as of May 2009):

Binary pair in Lacerta HD 213128 (A component) & BD+51 3386 (B component), BD+51 3385 (A component), AG+51 1680 (A component), AG+51 1681 (B component),GSC 03619-02131 (A component), GSC 03619-01867 (B component), TYC 3619-2131-1 (A component), TYC 3619-1867-1 (B component)

Binary pair in Cepheus HIP 104969 (A component) & BD+67 1298 (B component), AG+68 895 (A component), BD+67 1299 (A component), GSC 04461-00627 (A component), HD 202986 (A component), TYC 4461-627-1 (A component),  AG+68 894 (B component), GSC 04461-00677 (B component), HD 202986B (B component), TYC 4461-677-1 (B component)

Binary pair in Hercules BD+16 3495 (A component), AG+16 1826 (A component), GSC 01569-01564 (A component), TYC 1569-1564-1 (A component), SAO 103692 (A component). Secondary (B component of ~10.5 mag) has not been identified in SIMBAD or in the star catalogs, but shows orbital motion relative to A component and also background stars...

Binary pair in Vulpecula HD 344698 (A component)& HD 344697 (B component)

Binary pair in Hercules BD+36 3014 (A component) & BD+36 3014p (B component)

A summary of all new discoveries (including a triple system in Ophiuchus):

..>..> ..>..>identifier codes: BD+08 3520s (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) CSI+08 3520 2 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) 2MASS J17522671+0834199 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) TYC 1007-1685-1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) AG+08 2193 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GSC 01007-01685 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SAO 122860 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) YZ 8 8127 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) HD 162792 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) CSI+08 3520 1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) PPM 164737 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) YZ 8 8126 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) AG+08 2192 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GSC 01007-01749 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SAO 122858 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) BD+08 3520 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) 2MASS J17522438+0834170 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) TYC 1007-1749-1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) HIP 104969 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GSC 04461-00627 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) PPM 22716 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) UBV M 25603 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) AG+68 895 HD 202986 SAO 19281 uvby98 100202986 BD+67 1299 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) HIC 104969 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SKY# 40473 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GEN# +1.00202986 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) 2MASS J21154260+6821076 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) TYC 4461-627-1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) HD 344698 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) CSI+22 3760 2 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) PPM 109454 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) YZ 23 7182 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) AG+23 1937 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GSC 02138-02207 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SAO 87530 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) BD+22 3760s (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) 2MASS J19395766+2317252 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) TYC 2138-2207-1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) BD+16 3495 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) IRAS 18227+1640 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SAO 103692 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) YZ 16 6780 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) AG+16 1826 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) 2MASS J18245956+1641550 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) SKY# 33625 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) GSC 01569-01564 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) PPM 134689 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad) TYC 1569-1564-1 (identified as a double star system by Abdul Ahad)