Just thought this may be of interest to some others here who want to do something practical to learn about a few more aspects of Astronomy. Here is a site that will take you through a number of exercise/labs that you can download and execute on your computer. It's from the
CLEAbase (Contemporary Laboratory Experiences in Astronomy) website. If you want to goto the software page straight away, here's the link...
CLEA Software Overview
Have fun with the exercises and get as much out of them as you can
If you have any problems, troubles with the work or just some questions, give me a buzz via PM or email me