1According to the recent census, the population of the metropolitan area has grown by fourteen percent in a decade, reaching two point three million inhabitants.
2The observatory sits at two thousand six hundred metres above sea level, where clear skies allow observations on roughly three hundred nights each year.
3Its main telescope, named after Professor Akiyama, A-K-I-Y-A-M-A, can detect objects nearly thirteen billion light years away from Earth.
4Light from the most distant galaxies recorded so far began its journey approximately thirteen point eight billion years ago, shortly after the universe formed.
5The nearest star beyond our own sun, Proxima Centauri, lies about four point two light years away, a distance no spacecraft has yet crossed.
6Visitors' passes cost eighteen pounds, though entry is free for students and for children under the age of twelve.
7Guided tours in English run three times daily, at eleven, at two, and at half past four, each lasting around ninety minutes.
8The planetarium show fills its two hundred and forty seats within minutes, so booking tickets online at least a week ahead is strongly recommended.
9Last year the centre welcomed four hundred and ten thousand visitors, almost a fifth of them travelling from abroad.
10The gift shop's bestselling item remains a scale model of the solar system, priced at twenty nine pounds ninety nine.