Introduction to Astronomy and CosmologyISBN: 978-0-470-03333-3
Hardcover
360 pages
December 2008
Other Available Formats: Paperback
|
He is a past president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, one of the UK's largest astronomical societies. He remains on the society's council and holds the post of instrument advisor helping members with their choice and use of Telescopes.
He lectures widely on astronomy, has co-authored for books for amateur astronomers and writes regularly for the two UK astronomy magazines. He also writes a monthly sky guide for the Jodrell Bank Observatory's web site and produces an audio version as part of the Jodrell Bank Podcast. He has contributed to many television programmes and is a regular astronomy commentator on local and national radio. Another activity he greatly enjoys is to take amateur astronomers on observing trips such as those to Lapland to see the Aurora Borealis and on expeditions to Turkey and China to observe total eclipses of the Sun.
In 2003 the Minor Planets Committee of the International Astronomical Union named asteroid 15,727 in his honour, citing his work with MERLIN, the world's largest linked array of radio telescopes, and that in searching for intelligent life beyond our Solar System in Project Phoenix. In 2007 he was appointed tot the post of Gresham Professor of Astronomy. Dating from 1597, this is the oldest astronomy professorship in the world and was once held by Christopher Wren.