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Eleven-year-old astronomy author sells hundreds of books

Aston holding a piece of stringImage source, Lyndsay Smith
Image caption,

Aston was contacted by astronaut Tim Peake after writing his book

An 11-year-old author has sold hundreds of copies of his book about space.

Aston wrote "Things About Space" when he was eight years old. It's now sold over 700 copies.

Aston loves space, and his family donated the money made from the books to an astronomy charity.

British astronaut Tim Peake got in touch with Aston after finding out about the book, and signed a copy for him.

'Pretty cool'

As well as being bought by family and friends, Aston's book was sent to lots of different schools. The book was so popular the original version sold out, and he brought out a newer version last year.

Aston said it felt "pretty cool" when his friends asked him about his book.

He says he loves space and dreams of travelling up into space himself when he's older.

I typed most of it myself on the computer, but some of it was typed by them (his parents) when my fingers got tired or stung quite a lot. I told them what I wanted to say though.

— Aston

Aston has ADHD and autism and said he had created an audio version of his book so that neurodivergent children, or anyone who struggles to read, could experience it too.

Each page of the book has a QR code on it that you can scan to access a read-out version.