Observers Guide to Stellar Evolution The Birth, Life and Death of Stars [Paperback]

Stellar evolution - the birth, development and death of stars - is central to our current understanding of astronomy, but surprisingly the majority of amateur astronomers lack a full understanding of the physics of stars. Current books on the market tend to be highly theoretical and off-putting, in Observer's Guide to Stellar Evolution, Mike Inglis brings this subject to life in a unique way. By combining a step-by-step introduction with suggestions for practical observations of stars at different stages in their evolution, amateur astronomers regardless of their current level of knowledge, will find this book fascinating and informative.-Accessible to every amateur astronomer, regardless of background knowledge. -Step-by-step introduction to the theory of stellar evolution. -Includes many examples of stars at different stages in their evolution, that the reader can observe for him/herself. -Mathematics is made accessible by being presented in 'boxes'that readers can skip over if they prefer!Stellar evolution - the birth, development and death of stars - is centralto our current understanding of astronomy. This area of astrophysics isoften portrayed as being difficult and mathematical, but Mike Inglisbrings it to life in a unique way, combining a step-by-step introductionwith suggestions for making practical observations of stars at differentstages in their evolution. Every amateur astronomer - regardless of theircurrent level of knowledge - will find this book fascinating andinformative.A Brief Introduction.- 1 Stellar Evolution  The Basics.- 1.1 Distance to the Stars.- 1.2 The Nearest Stars.- 1.3 The Brightness and Luminosity of Stars.- 1.4 The Magnitudes of Stars.- 1.5 The Brightest Stars.- 1.6 The Colour of Stars.- 1.7 The Size and Mass of Stars.- 1.8 The Biggest Stars.- 1.9 The Constituents of Stars.- 1.10 The Spectra of Stars.- 1.11 Stellar Classification.- 1.12 The HertzsprungRussell Diagram.- 1.13 The HR Diagram and a Stars Radius.- 1.14 The HR DiagrlÓ$