Biographical Details

It's all in a day's work for an astronomer

This picture by our daughter Irene shows me during an observing run. I am holding what I think is a telescope, although it may be a beer bottle. Experience shows that both instruments are roughly equivalent when it comes to seeing stars.

Beady eyes, a slanted moustache, and a satanic grin are familiar longterm consequences of chronic sleep deprivation, the astronomer's main occupational hazard. The absence of a nose in the present case is due to artistic freedom.

Needless to say that I support Women in Astronomy.

Curriculum Vitae

I thought I'd spare you the unsavoury details of my CV (describing a life marred by successful evasion of higher education and by a pursuit of unhealthy interests). Instead, here is a much more direct insight into my mind:

MR in absorption against a soft X-ray background.

Awards and Honors

Traditionally, astronomers acknowledge the careers of their esteemed colleagues by naming celestial bodies in their honor. As for me, I have a meteorite named after me.

Personal Interests and Trivia

1) I always wanted to be a foreigner, an ambition I have been able to satisfy for most of my adult life.

2) My average speed in 2018 was 16.2 mph