主播大秀

Bryan meets Scotland's Astronomer Royal, Professor John Brown.

John tells Bryan about how he first became interested in astronomy, when he was just ten. He was inspired by the launch of the Sputnik satellite and also the launch of a new 主播大秀 programme devoted to astronomy, The Sky at Night.

Before long, John was building his own telescopes out of nothing more than kitchen roll and magnifying glasses. When he went to Dumbarton Academy, John started an astronomy club and continued to build even bigger telescopes.

Inspired by his teachers, John studied physics and and astronomy at Glasgow University, and later he began lecturing there on astronomy. During his career as an astronomer, John has researched the sun, comets and the idea of powering spacecraft using solar power.

In 1995 John became Scotland's Astronomer Royal - a post which dates back to 1834. The role sees him giving talks and lectures at schools, astronomy clubs and planetariums. John is also a keen magician and quite often uses conjuring tricks to illustrate his talks!