A Dog Star There are so many good reasons for acquiring an interest in the night sky – mine wasn’t one of them. It turns out that I was extraordinarily shy as a child and had few friends. One July evening, at Twin lake Camp in Vermont while walking with my bunk-mates from a July 4th celebration, I happened to be looking up at the night sky when I saw a shooting star. It was not particularly bright but it did capture my attention as it raced from the head of Draco, the Dragon, towards the bright star Vega. Right away, I noticed that the stars could be friends. Stars are people too. Around the same time our family got a beagle dog we named Clipper. I spent much time with him as I was growing up, taking him for walks and generally sharing my adventures with him. He was even the subject of my first book, written when I … Continue reading →