Anton Vamplew
Encyclopedia
Anton Vamplew, is an English
amateur astronomer
, author
, lecturer
and media presenter of the subject.
and editor of the society's quarterly journal, Pegasus.
His first radio appearance was on BBC Radio Kent
in 1986 during the approach of
Halley's Comet. On the same station, Vamplew soon created his astro-persona
"Captain Cosmos", presenting a monthly live phone-in. This was followed by an
astronomy series entitled the Essential Guide to the Night Sky, which ran for eight
months.
From March 1993 to July 2002 he toured schools, colleges and museums, giving talks
about space and astronomy to children and adults in the Astrodome inflatable
mobile planetarium
. He was also involved in writing the shows.
In November 1996 he was asked to write and present a Universe Special for the
BBC World Service youth programme, Megamix. He then became a regular
presenter of the programme (along with Nikita Gulhane and Brenda Emmanus) until it
ended in March 1999. During that time he produced a series of features entitled The
Captain Cosmos Guide to the End of the World.
Also on the World Service, Vamplew wrote and presented a 10-part astronomy
series: Captain Cosmos' Galactic Guide which was broadcast twice in 1998, plus he
was the resident astronomy expert from March 1999 to March 2000 on the youth
programme, The Edge.
On 5 November 1997, he made his first of 30 regular appearances on the BBC
Children's programme, Blue Peter
. For a time Vamplew became known as The Blue Peter Astronomer and undertook two overseas assignments to the telescopes of La Palma
and Hawaii
.
In 1999 Vamplew joined the Royal Observatory Greenwich working as a presenter in their original Caird Planetarium. Once the redevelopment of the Observatory site began in late 2004 he joined the team that would equip the new, then to be named, Peter Harrison Planetarium. He left his newer role of Planetarium Producer and the Observatory itself in May 2007.
Currently he writes the Beginners'
Guide in the BBC Sky at Night magazine.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
amateur astronomer
Amateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
and media presenter of the subject.
Biography
Vamplew joined Mid-Kent Astronomical Society in 1979, later becoming chairmanand editor of the society's quarterly journal, Pegasus.
His first radio appearance was on BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
in 1986 during the approach of
Halley's Comet. On the same station, Vamplew soon created his astro-persona
"Captain Cosmos", presenting a monthly live phone-in. This was followed by an
astronomy series entitled the Essential Guide to the Night Sky, which ran for eight
months.
From March 1993 to July 2002 he toured schools, colleges and museums, giving talks
about space and astronomy to children and adults in the Astrodome inflatable
mobile planetarium
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...
. He was also involved in writing the shows.
In November 1996 he was asked to write and present a Universe Special for the
BBC World Service youth programme, Megamix. He then became a regular
presenter of the programme (along with Nikita Gulhane and Brenda Emmanus) until it
ended in March 1999. During that time he produced a series of features entitled The
Captain Cosmos Guide to the End of the World.
Also on the World Service, Vamplew wrote and presented a 10-part astronomy
series: Captain Cosmos' Galactic Guide which was broadcast twice in 1998, plus he
was the resident astronomy expert from March 1999 to March 2000 on the youth
programme, The Edge.
On 5 November 1997, he made his first of 30 regular appearances on the BBC
Children's programme, Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. For a time Vamplew became known as The Blue Peter Astronomer and undertook two overseas assignments to the telescopes of La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
In 1999 Vamplew joined the Royal Observatory Greenwich working as a presenter in their original Caird Planetarium. Once the redevelopment of the Observatory site began in late 2004 he joined the team that would equip the new, then to be named, Peter Harrison Planetarium. He left his newer role of Planetarium Producer and the Observatory itself in May 2007.
Currently he writes the Beginners'
Guide in the BBC Sky at Night magazine.
Selected television appearances
- GMTVGMTVGMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
(TV) (2006) (ITV Morning news programme) - Mind Games (TV) (2004) (BBC4 Brainteaser quiz panel show)
- Richard & JudyRichard & JudyRichard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...
(TV) (2004) (Channel 4 Chat show) - Ready, Steady, Cook (TV) (2002) (BBC2 Cookery show)
- This Morning (TV) (2005) (ITV Daytime magazine show)
- BBC WorldBBC WorldBBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
(TV) (2006) (BBC International news channel) - Who Knows? (TV) (2003) (Disney Channel magazine show)
- Space Detectives (TV) (2000) (BBC Children's 13-part programme - scientific advisor and episode writer)