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An Interlude: Special & General Relativity
If there is one scientist that nearly everyone can name, it is Albert Einstein. Similarly, the one scientific theory that everyone has heard of, is... -
The Speculative Universe
The final chapter deals with topics that are, at present, still highly hypothetical. As well as controversial. There is not enough observational or... -
The Sun, Our Nearest Star
In this chapter, we shall look at the Sun, bearing in mind it is a star on the main sequence. With this approach, it is possible to use the Sun as a... -
Star Death: White Dwarfs and Planetary Nebulae
Stars live for millions, billions and even hundreds of billions of years, and so you may be thinking how on Earth can we know anything about how a... -
Active Galaxies
We now discuss a type of galaxy that has become very prominent in astrophysical research over the past 20 or so years—active galaxies and active... -
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
We have already covered many topics in our description of a star’s basic characteristics, such as its mass, radius, spectral type and temperature. We... -
Tools of the Trade
Let us begin our journey with several simple, but also very important, basic concepts that are used throughout all of astronomy, whether amateur of... -
A Brief Overview of Deep-Sky Imaging Equipment
The process of imaging a deep-sky object is in theory very simple. It involves a telescope or a basic camera and lens that tracks the movement of the... -
Light Pollution and the Night Sky
Our ancestors used the cycle of constellations as a seasonal guide, hel** them decide when it was time for activities such as planting, harvesting... -
Computer Control of a Telescope
Using a computer to control an amateur telescope adds functionality that wasn’t possible previously and turns a hobby telescope into one capable of... -
Technology, Society and Economy
Although space science was the most visible part of the space programme, the 1970s saw it transformed into a wide-spectrum programme to benefit... -
Change of Direction
There was a significant change in direction in Japan’s space programme in 1998, the key moment being the firing of the Taepo Dong missile by the... -
Human Spaceflight
Human spaceflight inevitably became the most high-profile part of Japan’s space programme. Following an early American invitation to join the... -
Postscript: Flying into Space is a Human Dream
As the book was being written and handed in, I took a long breath of fresh air, like an astronaut returning safely to Earth from space, and suddenly... -
Free Fall and Weightlessness in Gravity
Gravity, also named as gravitation, is a physical phenomenon of pulling force of two objects with masses. -
Introduction to Image Processing and Stacking
This chapter describes the basic operation of some of the image processing software, currently available that is easy to use and produces great... -
Setting Up and Using Your Telescope
Chapters 6 , 7 and 8... -
Where Do You Go from Here?
Now that you are able to setup and run an imaging system it requires a lot of practice to become fully familiar with it, and even more time to... -
Your First Imaging Session
It is now time to take the first images using your telescope and camera. Having already done much of the hard work needed, now it’s time to start... -
DIY Projects
The following projects vary in difficulty but all require that you have some skills in DIY cutting and drilling and also soldering. If you feel that...