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Photo: Robin Scagell, Galaxy Picture Library

Ian Ridpath

Origin:
Born 1947 May 1, Ilford, Essex.

Current location:
Brentford, west London.

Contact details:
ian @ ianridpath.com

Career:
I have been a full-time writer, broadcaster, and lecturer on astronomy and space since 1972. Previously I worked at the University of London Observatory and in publishing. I am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (Council member 2004–07), as well as a member of the Society of Authors and of the Association of British Science Writers. I run my own desktop publishing system for producing books and magazines.

Books:
Over 40 book titles as author or editor. These include a series of three sky guides illustrated by Wil Tirion, the world’s foremost celestial map maker: the Collins Guide to Stars and Planets, a standard field guide for amateur astronomers (published in the US as the Princeton Field Guide to Stars and Planets); The Monthly Sky Guide, a month-by-month introduction to the stars, now in its seventh edition; and Gem Stars, a pocket guide to the constellations, regularly reprinted

I am editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy and of Norton’s Star Atlas. I was also General Editor of the Collins Encyclopedia of the Universe.

Three of my early books concerned extraterrestrial life and interstellar travel: Worlds Beyond, Messages from the Stars, and Life off Earth.

My favourite books are Star Tales, about the mythology of the constellations, and The Times Universe, a pictorial tour from the Earth to the farthest reaches of the cosmos.

Broadcasting:
Over the years I have appeared on numerous news and current affairs programmes on radio and television, discussing developments in astronomy and space or describing what can be seen in the sky. I was space correspondent for LBC Radio and for the original BBC TV Breakfast Time programme. I subsequently moved to Sky News.

Journalism:
My writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the world. From 1986 to 1992 I was editor and then editor-in-chief of Popular Astronomy, a UK magazine for amateur astronomers. I am an occasional contributor to Astronomy Now and chair their annual AstroFest conference, the largest event of its kind in Europe. I wrote the London Planetarium programme Planet Earth, which ran from 1993 to 1995. For over 10 years I wrote a monthly star spot for BBC Wildlife magazine. However, I regard myself primarily as an author of books.

Lecturing:
I am a lecturer in the Cunard Insights programme, in conjunction with the Royal Astronomical Society.

Hobbies:
In the case of astronomy, I have made a career out of my hobby. Apart from astronomy my main interest since the 1980s has been road running. In 1985 I combined the two interests by running the London Marathon dressed as Halley’s Comet (see photographic evidence below). My eleventh (and last) marathon was the Midnight Sun Marathon in Tromsø, Norway, which seemed a suitably astronomical event on which to finish. For three years I was Race Director of the Polytechnic Marathon, from Windsor to Chiswick, Britain’s oldest marathon race, now sadly deceased.
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Into orbit:  Halley’s Comet finishes the 1985 London Marathon –
the best chance that most people in London had to see the Comet.


More recently, I have come to appreciate the merits of allowing four legs to do the running for me – see below. I am part-owner of a racehorse called Hevelius (after the Polish astronomer), in training with Walter Swinburn. He is a son of the Group-1-winning miler Polish Precedent. I am also an admirer of the contemporary British artists Peter Brown and David Tress. I collect postage stamps with an astronomical theme.

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Four-legged friend:  Me and Betty, a sweet-natured 16-hander
at Ealing Riding School.



I have been involved with the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and am a UFO skeptic. I observe with naked eye, binoculars, and small telescope from my home in Brentford, West London.

Awards:
In 1986 I was Highly Commended in the annual British Science Writers Awards for my investigation and explanation of Britain’s most famous UFO case in Rendlesham Forest near Woodbridge US Air Force base in Suffolk. I first investigated the case for BBC TV’s Breakfast Time and published a subsequent report in The Guardian. Further details of the case can be found on this website.

The Giant Book of Space, published by Hamlyn, was a category winner in the 1990 Science Book Prizes.

Work in progress and forthcoming engagements:
A weekly Star Map article for the partwork publication Build a Model Solar System. An 8th edition of The Monthly Sky Guide.
Whirlpool Star Party, Birr Castle, Ireland, September 27
Royal Astronomical Society public lecture, October 14.
Lectures and demonstrations, Queen Mary 2, November 29–December 9.

Last updated: 2008 July.


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