As Star Trek celebrates its 50th anniversary, this book reveals the real science behind its fantastic and beloved fictions, inviting readers to step outside, gaze up at the night sky, and observe some of the destinations the Starfleet has visited. Many of the galactic destinations featured in Star Trek over the yearsmultiple star systems, alien worlds, supernova explosions, emission nebulae, voracious black holesare scientifically valid, so much so that one can step out and view them in the night sky. In this book astronomy educator Andrew Fazekas, The Night Sky Guy, takes you on that journey, starting with specific Star Trek voyages, explaining the science behind them, and guiding you in observing and learning more about the real-universe corollaries of planets and places in the Star Trek universe.

With a foreword from William Shatner and stunningly illustrated with hundreds of full-color imagessome artists interpretations and some real images generated by the most recent NASA missionsplus stills of favorite Star Trek scenes and characters, uses Star Trek to teach astronomy, taking every reader on a voyage of discovery. From Altair to Vega, from red giants to white dwarfs, from our solar system to exoplanets we are only beginning to imagine, the book visits dozens of celestial objects, spotlighting some 20 in careful scientific detail and offering easy-to-follow star-gazing instructions to find them in the night sky.

No warp-driven starship, not even a telescope is required to go on these voyages: Most destinations are bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. For Star Trek fans and budding stargazers who are ready to launch their own space mission, this inventive book blends science and fiction, making learning fun and making Star Treks 50th all the more worthy of celebration.