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Mark Thompson (astronomer)

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Mark Thompson
Born
Mark Thompson

1973 (age 50–51)
Norfolk, England
Occupation(s)Astronomer, television presenter, writer

Mark Thompson (born 1973, Norfolk, England)[1] is a British astronomer, television presenter and writer best known for being one of the presenting team on the BBC show Stargazing Live and is a regular face on Good Morning Britain.[2]

Biography

Thompson has lived in Norfolk all his life and was first enthused about astronomy aged 10 when he saw the rings of Saturn through a telescope.[3] He has remained living in the county because the night skies are very dark and ideal for stargazing.[3]

Thompson had given up his ambition to present on TV and had retrained as a pilot when (in 2009) he was picked to become a presenter on the BBC's The One Show.[4]

Thompson has been one of a number of amateur astronomers to become a council member of the Royal Astronomical Society.[4] Since it was founded in 1820 as the Astronomical Society of London (receiving its Royal Charter in 1830 from King William IV) it has had many amateurs on its council, including many of its founding members (of the original 12 founding members in 1820, 11 were amateurs, including the Sir John Herschel, the son of William). Nigel Calder and Anthony Kinder, both amateurs, were members of the council from 2001–2004. He is President of the Norwich Astronomical Society.[3]

He is most well known for his role as one of the presenting team of the hit BBC science show Stargazing Live.

In August 2016 Thompson first performed his Spectacular Science Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the National Museum of Scotland Gilded Balloon venue.,[5] he has been touring it around the country to sellout audiences since.

Thompson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of East Anglia on 16 July 2018.[6]

As of February 2017 Thompson had 76,822 followers on Twitter.[7]

TV appearances and radio broadcasts

Written Work

  • Columnist for Discovery Space Jul 2010 to present[12]
  • Writer for Space Exploration Network Jul 2011 to 2012 [13]
  • 'A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos' ISBN 978-0593070369 [4]
  • 'A Space Travellers Guide to the Solar System' ISBN 978-0593073339
  • 'Philips Stargazing with Mark Thompson' ISBN 978-1849073134
  • 'Philips Astrophotography with Mark Thompson' ISBN 978-1849073141
  • 'Science for Rocketing into Space' ISBN 978-1526308108
  • 'Science for Looking Into Space' ISBN 978-1526308474
  • 'Science for Exploring Outer Space' ISBN 978-1526308467
  • 'Science for Surviving in Space' ISBN 978-1526308436
  • '101 Facts You Didn't Know About Space' ISBN 978-1526744579

References

  1. ^ Mark Thompson (28 December 2014). "Mark Thompson on Twitter". Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  2. ^ Ross Clark, 'Hooked on Stargazing', The Sunday Telegraph, 11 April 2010, Lifestyles Section page 16
  3. ^ a b c 'Norfolk astronomer Mark Thompson ready for the return of BBC’s Stargazing Live', Norwich Evening News, 12 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Katherine MacAlister, 'Rising Star', Oxford Mail, 14 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. ^ ‘Spectacular Science Edinburgh Fringe Review’, 7 August 2016.
  6. ^ 'Mark Thompson awarded honorary doctorate for UEA', Eastern Daily Press, 16 July 2018.
  7. ^ Mark Thompson [@PeoplesAstro] (28 December 2014). "@samwalton9 indeed I was" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Bill Gibb, 'Mark's starry-eyed with his new show', The Weekly News, 1 January 2011, page 8
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008pc8h/celebrities
  12. ^ http://news.discovery.com/contributors/mark-thompson/
  13. ^ http://www.sen.com
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