A star is an incredible thing. Tiny pinpricks of light which speckle the night sky, humanity has perpetually been fascinated by them. Holes in the firmament, permanent affixations to the celestial sphere, guiding beacons for lost travellers, nuclear power-stations of colossal scale, the twinkle in a lovers eye after a particularly bad pun; history is alive with descriptions of them given by scholars and simpletons alike from all walks of life.