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Binary stars are known to revolve around each other with a common center of gravity. These stars are somewhat awkward to observe, because of the great distances involved in interstellar space, some Binary systems can appear as a single light source. However viewed through telescopes such as the 200 inch Hale, these binary systems can be seen as double stars.

Black holes are believed to be the remnants of Supernovae, an exploding star. Another description of a Black hole is a collapsed star .. the gravitational effects of these collapsed stars are enormous. Nothing can escape not even light. The first known recordings of Black hole radio emissions were made by the Starship SS Valiant on a mission of deep space exploration in 2065.

It was the ancient astronomers who believed that everything in the heavens revolved round the Earth every 24 hours, and the planet was the center of the universe. We now know that the Earth is the third planet within our solar system, at a distance of 93 million miles from the sun or one astronomical unit, and has an equatorial diameter of about 7.927 miles.

In 1999 the first observations were made by Earth telescopes of an extra solar planet outside our solar system. Referred to as HD209458, this is an 8th magnitude star in the constellation of Pegasus very similar to our Sun, about 153 light years from Earth. This star is impossible to be viewed with the naked eye the planet was detected in transit dimming the stars light every 3.5 days.

There are basically three types of Galaxies, Spiral, Elliptical and Irregular. Our galactic system, the Milky way is referred to as a Spiral Galaxy. This has a flattened shape, and a central core surrounded by spiral arms extending from the nucleus. The earliest Known recording of galactic background radio emissions were made by the Uss Carrizal in 2051.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. This planet is about 89,000 miles in diameter, at a distance of about 483,900,000 miles from our sun. Jupiter has at least fifteen satellites, and is basically made up of liquid and solid gases. The planets ring system is made up of ice, and other rocky material similar to Saturn these rings are difficult to detect being almost invisible.

Mars exhibits a strong red color, giving it the name, the planet of war. This is the forth planet from the sun, at a distance of 142 million miles. Mars rotates on its axis every 24.6 hours, and has two satellites Phobos, and Deimos, Greek names for fear and panic. The earliest Known recording of radio emissions from Mars were made by the probe Mariner 2 in 1965.

Mercury is the closest planet in Earts solar system, at a distance of some 36 million miles from our sun . Sometimes it may be seen for a brief period of time in the western sky after sunset, or in the east after dawn. At these times Mercury can appear as a bright star but its not easy to find. The first recorded radio emissions from this planet were by Earth telescopes in the late twentieth century.

The Moon is the nearest body to the Earth, at a distance of some 239.000 miles. Its diameter is about 2.160 miles. One of the most interesting aspects about the Moon is its surface. Viewed with the naked eye it is possible to see light and dark areas on the lunar surface called Maria. These areas are covered with lava, such as the sea of Storms.

A planetary Nebula is an interstellar cloud made up of gas, and dust formed from an exploding star. As the dust and gas become cooler the cloud expands, sometimes producing interesting shapes such as the Horse Head Nebula in the constellation of Orion. The first planetary Nebula radio emissions were recorded by Earth telescopes in the late twentieth century.

Neptune the eighth planet in our solar system is named after the Roman god of the ocean. This planet is about 2.800 million miles from our sun, and was discovered in 1846 when two mathematicians, John Adams and J Leverrier predicted the planets existence, and position by observing the orbit of the planet Uranus. Neptunes diameter is about 27,700 miles.

Discovered in 1930, by colleagues of Percival Lowell, Pluto is the outer most planet in the solar system. This planet has an unusual orbit around our sun, its path is very elliptical, at one point bringing it inside the orbit of Neptune. Plutos distance from the sun is about 3.670 million miles, and takes 247 Earth years to complete one orbit around the sun.

Saturn is the six planet in our solor system. This planet rotates on its axis once every 10 hours and has a diameter of about 75.000 miles. The most striking feature about Saturn is its ring system, these consist of chunks of ice and fragments of rock which encircle the planet in a thin band. The diameter of Saturns ring system is 171,000 miles including Saturn itself.

The definition of a Star is a body, or sphere of gas generating its own energy from nuclear reactions deep inside a central core. There are many types of Stars located throughout the Galaxy, ranging from variable stars to white dwarfs, proto starsand red giants. The nearest star to the Earth other than our Sun is Alpha centauri, at a distance of about 4.25 light years.

A star cluster is a group of stars which are bound together by gravity. There are basically 3 types of star clusters within our galaxy Open, Globular and Associations. Open clusters are close knit and can contain 1,000 stars. Globular clusters are much larger in size and can hold upto several million stars. Associations often have fewer stars which are much younger and normally contain upto a few hundred stars.

Our Sun is a self luminous body, producing its energy from nuclear reactions deep inside a central core. Located at the center of our solar system at a distance of 93 million miles from the Earth (or one astronomical unit) The Sun is a main sequence star the surface temperature is 10.000 degrees. Its diameter is 865.300 miles, 110 times the diameter of the Earth.

The term Supernovae is used to describe the death of a star. Only the more massive stars become Supernovae. This type of star has a much shorter life span and can age faster than main sequence stars, such as our sun. After the star has exhausted its fuel, an explosion takes place releasing the suns mass into space, such as the Crab nebula in Taurus.

The seventh planet in our solar system, Uranus was discovered by William Herschel in 1781. The planets orbit around the sun is about 84 years. In the 1930s observations showed that the planets atmosphere is made up of methane gas. Further observations made in the 1960s showed that the planets atmosphere also contains large amounts of hydrogen.

Variable stars do not maintain a steady light source, instead they fluctuate at different intervals. Some Variable stars pulse at different rates, while others flare up from time to time, showing regular variations in brightness. About 22,600 variables have been cataloged, the earliest known observations for this type of star were made by Hipparchus in 134 BC.

The planet Venus is the second closest planet to our sun, at a distance of about 67 million miles. Venus has a diameter of about 7,700 miles. Observations from Earth Telescopes only show the planets cloud system, however in 1932 scientists at the Mount Wilson observatory in Los Angeles California discovered that the atmosphere of this planet has large amounts of carbon dioxide.