Albereo is one of the most beautiful binary stars in all the universe. (Also known by the name Albireo.) Binary stars are a fascinating cosmic phenomenon, and a very common one. As you read this, you may be amazed to know that most stars in the universe are binary stars. From Earth, a binary star looks like a single star (and has the name of a single star), but really it is two stars, paired up for billions and billions of years, locked in a gravitational embrace from which they never waver. The two stars are often of different mass and size, but they nonetheless remain joined in perfect equilibrium and an enduring orbital pull. The fact of binary stars points to what I believe is a fundamental cosmic truth: that the universe is a model of co-operation.

When I look at Albereo in the night sky, I feel a sense of connection to life – to all the cosmic activity that spreads boundlessly above and around us, and oddly, to my own life, which extends boundlessly within – in my heart, my mind, in the depth of feelings that animate my days, in the diversity of the “states of mind” that play upon my consciousness, in the vertical reaches of imagination, curiosity, creativity, awe and reverence. We are endless, finite as we are, we are endless, boundless, immeasurable, profoundly rich and deep.

The “idea” of this becomes actual experience when I look at the night sky. I begin to palpably feel my boundlessness, my heart grows wide, a sense of spaciousness expands within me, the physical boundary of my body softens, my petty thoughts dissolve, my locus of identity shifts, for a moment, from ego-personality Melanie to presence and being itself. Peace pervades my mind, then compassion, and then I usually see in my mind and from a distance the beautiful, broken, fragile world we live in. I see the preciousness of LIFE itself as it inhabits every single body on this tiny planet in our little Milky Way, struggling for survival and yearning for love.

Life will grow in the most inhospitable of conditions. What is it that animates life? What is that power that can endure everything short of death, that gives us our thinking and breathing and circulatory system, that informs migratory birds where to go and when, that inspires our art and music and the desire to improve our life and the world around us? What is the source of love itself and every spiritual impulse humankind has ever felt?

What is the relationship between the finite and the infinite? Is it true that the infinite exists within our finite bodies? That our very core (perhaps the core of every atom, for there’s a very interesting power dynamic going on there) is formed from or animated by a piece of the infinite? That every human mind contains a divine nucleus — nearly imperceptible, but functioning nonetheless? Is it too great a stretch to say that that’s obvious?

These questions may seem trite or trivial, but I tell you this…. Filling our minds with the junk food so widely available in 21st century culture will doom us. We’re getting more stupid with each next decade of technological advancements. Educated first world kids are losing their ability to write complete sentences and to engage in genuine, intimate human connection. Our eyes are increasingly glued to a screen and the virtual world it portrays. We’re spending less time in the beauty of pristine wilderness and more time in our polluted cities, concrete caves of constant distraction.

We don’t look up very much any more. This is my point. Where is our wonder? Where is our curiosity? Where is our respect for each other and for our planet? Where is our awe and reverence for the mystery and magnificence of life and for that which gave us life in the first place?

One of the problems in our world is that we’re not asking the deep questions anymore. Depth has become uncool in pop culture and among our young. This is trouble, don’t you think? Only depth will really save us from every dangerous precipice near which we stand (environmental, social, economic, all the religious and political antagonisms and the wars they fuel, AND the pandemic of personal unhappiness).

The shallow course will tend to perpetuate our lower instincts through short-sightedness, greed, instant gratification and apathy.

Going deep is always a more difficult road, but it reveals truth and objectivity, clarity and understanding, consequences and the big picture. On a more personal scale, depth is where all the good stuff is, starting with ALIVENESS itself.

I’m an advocate of depth, and one of the greatest inspirations of depth I know is the night sky and the vast universe of universes that lies within it.

A Few Last Thoughts on Binary Stars and Albereo:

Every star in the universe undergoes a certain evolutionary process as they age. They grow bigger and hotter until eventually they explode in a supernova. Each star in a binary star system evolves like a single star, but they do so at different rates. When one star in a binary system grows so big that its mass begins to crowd out the other star, the larger growing star begins to transfer its mass to the smaller star. The smaller star grows larger while the larger star shrinks in size. The impending explosion of the larger star, which would destroy both stars, is abated, often for millions or billions of years. The larger star, by giving part of itself to the smaller star, saves the lives of them both. And this points to another fundamental truth: that when one shares, unselfishly and without motive for personal gain, all will benefit — even eventually the one who gave.

Albereo is located in the constellation Cygnus and is made up of a small blue star and a large golden yellow star. The gold star is 80 times larger than our own sun and 100 times brighter. Albereo is 380 light years from our solar system, which is very close in astronomical terms! This means that the light rays of the Albereo stars take 380 of our years to reach our eyes.

Astronomers like to refer to the color of Albereo as topaz and sapphire, referring to their remarkably bright, iridescent, gem-like quality. Albereo is truly one of the most beautiful stars in all the universe. It can be seen with binoculars in a clear night sky. A telescope further magnifies its magnificence.