Michael Inglis is a professional astronomer with a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He has worked at the University of Hertfordshire, Warwick University (UK), Princeton University (United States), and currently is an Associate Professor of Astronomy for the Earth & Space Science Department at Suffolk County Community College (part of the State University of New York, SUNY). He has done research in nebulae morphology, active galactic nuclei, and cosmic rays and has authored several refereed papers. He has also had many popular articles published in the magazines Sky & Telescope and Astronomy Now had written several books for Springer, including An Observer's Guide to Stellar Evolution, (2002); Astronomy of the Milky Way, Vol I & II (2004); Astrophysics is Easy (2007). He currently serves as the series editor of the Springer Astronomer's Observing Guides.

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.
Mike Inglis brings the subject to life in a unique way, combining a
step-by-step introduction with suggestions for practical observations of
stars at different stages in their evolution. Regardless of their current
level of knowledge, amateur astronomers will find this book fascinating
and informative.

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 Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- 1.13 The H-R Diagram and a Star's Radius.- 1.14 The H-R Diagram and a Star's Luminosity.- 1.15 The H-R Diagram and a Star's Mass.- 2 Beginnings - Star Birth.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 The Interstellar Medium.- 2.3 Nebulae.- 2.4 Molecular Clouds.- 2.5 Protostars.- 2.6 Pre-Main Sequence Evolution.- 2.7 Mass Loss and Mass Gain.- 2.8 Star Clusters.- 2.9 Stellar Associations and Streams.- 2.10 Star Formation Triggers.- 3 The Main Sequence and Beyond.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Our Nearest Star - The Sun.- 3.3 From the Surface to the Core.- 3.4 The Proton-Proton Chain.- 3.5 The Flow of Energy from the Core to the Surface.- 3.6 Main Sequence Lifetimes.- 3.7 Towards the Red Giant.- 3.8 Helium Burning and the Helium Flash.- 3.9 Red Giants, Star Clusters and the H-R Diagram.- 3.10 Post-Main Sequence Star Clusters: The Globular Clusters.- 3.11 Stars That Pulsate.- 3.12 Cepheid Variables and the Period-Luminosity Relationship.- 3.13 Cepheid Variables: Temperature and Mass.- 3.14 RR Lyrae and Long-Period Variable Stars.- 4 The End Point - Star Death.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 The Asymptotic Giant Branch.- 4.3 Dredge-Ups.- 4.4 Mass Loss and Stellar Winds.- 4.5 Infrared Stars.- 4.6 The End of an AGB Star's Life.- 4.7 Planetary Nebulae.- 4.8 White Dwarf Stars.- 4.9 Electron Degeneracy and White Dwarfs.- 4.10 The Chandrasekhar Limit.- 4.11 WhiteDwarf Evolution.- 4.12 White Dwarf Origins.- 4.13 High-Mass Stars: Nuclear Burning and an Onion.- 4.14 Iron, Supernovae and the Formation of the Elements.- 4.15 The Supernova Remnant.- 4.16 A Final Note on Supernovae.- 4.17 Neutron Stars, Pulsars and Black Holes.- 4.18 From Beginning to End.- Appendix 1 Degeneracy.- Appendix 2 Books, Magazines and Organizations.- Appendix 3 The Greek Alphabet.- Appendix 4 Colour Photographs.- Object Index.