THE STARS NIGHT BY NIGHT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

In 1914 Joseph Henry Elgie, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, published The Stars Night by Night. Non-technical and affordable, it was one of the first guides that aimed to introduce the study of astronomy to an audience outside of the scientific community. Combining Elgie’s detailed observations of the night’s sky of his native Yorkshire with poetic rhapsodies to the beauty of the heavens, it inspired a generation of laymen and amateur enthusiasts to embrace astronomy. One disciple of Elgie was the young Brian Jones. The Stars Night by Night inspired in Brian not only a