The Names Of The Stars

Winner of Honor Book for the 2016 Montana Book Award At twenty years old, Pete Fromm heard of a job babysitting salmon eggs, seven winter months alone in a tent in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Leaping at this chance to be a mountain man, with no experience in the wilds, he left the world. Thirteen years later, he published his beloved memoir of that winter, Indian Creek Chronicles —Into the Wild with a twist. Twenty five years later, he was asked to return to the wilderness to babysit more fish eggs. But no longer a footloose twenty year old, at forty-five, he was the father of two young sons. He left again, alone, straight into the heart of Montana’s Bob Marshall wilderness, walking a daily ten mile loop to his fish eggs through deer and elk and the highest density of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. The Names of the Stars is not only a story of wilderness and bears but also a trek through a life lived at its edges, showing how an impulsive kid transformed into a father without losing his love for the wilds. From loon calls echoing across Northwood lakes to the grim realities of life guarding in the Nevada desert, through the isolation of Indian Creek and years spent running the Snake and Rio Grande as a river ranger, Pete seeks out the source of this passion for wildness, as well as explores fatherhood and mortality and all the costs and risks and rewards of life lived on its own terms.

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The following review appears in The Planetarian, the journal of the International Planetarium Society, December 2011, Vol. 40, No. 4, pages 62-63, written by the book review editor, April Whitt, of the Fernbank Planetarium in Atlanta, GA:Useful Star Names; With Nebulas and other Celestial FeaturesThomas Wm. Hamilton, Strategic Book Group, Durham, Connecticut, 2011, ISBN 978-1-61204-614-3“I wanted to let you know about this volume with the descriptive title in time for stocking your gift shops and book stores for the new year. It is, indeed, full of useful star names. And not just the usual Greek letters or catalog numbers, either.The author introduces the work as derived from “my experience of many years in the planetarium field.” Each of us has pointed out stars and constellations on the dome, in the night sky, or on a star map. We have all told stories of gods and heroes. Some of us have struggled with unfamiliar pronunciations, wondered where a particular story came from, or related the difference between Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. A few have even won “constellation shoot-out” contests with that.The book is divided into four sections. An alphabetical listing of the 88 constellations and the meanings of their names is first. Second is a list of stars, nebulae and galaxies by constellation, with the accepted scientific designations for the named ones. This is the really useful section: a concise source for catalog listing, spectral class, distance in lightyears, R.A. and Dec., and apparent magnitude.Many of the Chinese names were new to me, and a delight to add to the night sky knowledge (although I will need help with pronunciation).An alphabetical listing of all names, the original language of each, and English translation and pronunciation is third. The last section lists entries from various catalogs cross listed to constellations.Recommend this book to your local astronomy club. Share it with a telescope user-beginner. Purchase a copy for your planetarium library. It really is full of useful star names, and other good information.”

"The wardens climbed into their truck, ready to leave. 'You'll need about seven cords of firewood. Concentrate on that. You'll have to get it all in before the snow grounds your truck.'" "Though I didn't want to ask, it seemed important. 'What's a cord?'" So begins Pete Fromm's seven winter months alone in a tent in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness guarding salmon eggs. After blundering into this forbidding errand as a college lark, Fromm gradually come face to face with the blunt realities of life as a contemporary mountain man. Brutal cold, isolation, and fearful risks balance against the satisfaction of living a unique existence in modern America. This award-winning narrative is a gripping story of adventure, a rousing tale of self-sufficiency, and modern-day Walden. From either perspective, Fromm lives up to his reputation as one of the West's strongest new voices.

Choosing your baby’s name is incredibly important, as the name carries a unique weight and meaning that the girl or boy will carry for life. The meaning of a name is often the reason behind the choice, but what about other more fascinating influences? Astrology has helped shape and guide us for millennia, and can even reveal hidden aspects of our potential and personality. The stars are able to give a fresh dimension to our names, so selecting one isn’t the exclusive reserve of the newly born, but is for adults, too! If you’re looking for a name to suit your child (or even yourself!), this comprehensive A–Z guide from Russell Grant is ideal. Arranged by sun sign, with a special appendix covering the planetary rulers, it has everything you need to decide on the right name to bring out the best in your baby or you, including a special fact file for each zodiac sign, how the planets influence every name, and thousands of names from around the world. Choosing your baby’s name has never been so much fun!

Sirius, Algol, Castor and Pollux, Mizar and Alcor: these names are well known to stargazers. But others ? Rasalhague, Vindemiatrix, Zubenelgenubi ? are obscure tongue twisters. Have you ever wondered where all these exotic-sounding star names came from? In this second, revised edition of Short Guide to Modern Star Names and their Derivations, Paul Kunitzsch and Tim Smart track down the origin and meaning of 254 star names. This fascinating work, long out of print, is considered to be the most authoritative English-language treatment of star names in use today.