91É«ÇéƬ

The author does his best to restrain his enthusiastic tone at the start of his double audio cassette Patrick Moore’s Astronomy (Bespoke Audio £7.99, ISBN 186 051 0078) but by the end of side one his enthusiasm has got the better of him. He’s hurtling at breakneck speed aboard Voyager 2 on its journey through the Solar System. The cassette is aimed mainly at astronomy novices giving information on telescope buying and usage, a history of astronomy and what to look for in the sky. But you’ll also find fascinating sections on our Solar System, and how we have discovered more about our surroundings. You probably won’t be able to manage the full two-and-a-half hours in one sitting, but anecdotes liven up the proceedings, such as the letter sent to The New Yorker in the last century urging that missionaries be sent to the Moon immediately to convert its inhabitants to Christianity.