Raising your eyes and minds to the stars.

• Position: GeoVision Vega 600 telescope - WHAT'S NEW? - Brief article

Now that this brutally, hot season finally is coming to an end, we're reminded of why this period is referred to as the "dog days" of summer. Based on the nickname of Sirius, known as the Dog Star because it is the brightest in the constellation Canis Major, the ancient belief is that, because the star rises and sets with the sun in the summer, it adds to its heat, creating a stretch of blazing weather.

While today's light pollution makes it a bit more difficult to see the night sky than it was in, say, Copernicus' day, we still enjoy pulling out a telescope with the kids on a clear summer's evening and seeing what we can identity. With the GeoVision Vega 600 from Educational Insights, Columbia, Tenn., which offers magnification from 30x to 150x, we can see the universe in bright, clear images. Its...