Meet David

Welcome to Starlearner

I know the day my love of Astronomy started - 4th October 1957, the day Sputnik 1 was launched. I remember buying my first '45' vinyl record - Telstar by the Tornadoes - a hit in 1962. Going to the Farnborough Air Show with friends and viewing the iconic British rocket Blue Streak. I loved following the space race through the 60's with Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the Moon - they took forever to walk down those steps!

Everywhere I travel, I am always on the look-out.  Some of the highlights of things seen... 

1991 - the launch of the Atlantis Space Shuttle from Cape Canaveral

1994 - viewing Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crash into Jupiter

2007 - visiting the Ancient Observatory in Beijing

2007 - Starlearner launched!

2013 - visiting Keck 1 at the top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii

2017 - viewing the Great American Total Eclipse of the Sun in Nebraska and then on to the Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff to visit the scene of the discovery of Pluto - Meteor Crater - visiting Kitt Peak Observatory, Arizona

Over 25 years with teaching Astronomy and then to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society! Yes, I love looking at the Moon and the stars and was given the beautiful art work by my daughter - the words of Van Gogh say it all and are screen printed in gold with thousands of tiny stars by the gifted Seb Lester.