• 1982 - Begins Mathematics degree, and later Astronomy PhD, at Newnham College, Cambridge
• 1988 - Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford
• 1996 - Royal Society University Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
• 2004 - Fellow, Tutor, Admissions Tutor and College Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (to present)
• 2005 - Public Astronomer at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (to present)
• 2011 - Appointed to a four-year term as Astronomy Professor at Gresham College, London

Portrait by Sam Fabian

Meet the scholars interview, as featured in Unbound 10

What is it about Norway that inspires you?

I will be so excited to see the northern lights for myself. So far I’ve been incredibly unlucky in my attempts to view them – apart from a five-minute glimpse from my back garden in Cambridge a few years ago! I’m also an addict for Scandi-crime novels and TV series, so the combination of Norway and aurorae is a winner all round.

Do you have a funniest trip memory? 

Norway in late winter can sometimes be a challenge. I remember sliding and staggering round on the ice at the top of the cliffs at North Cape (Nordkapp) through a snowy blizzard… I’m not quite sure why I expected to ever see anything when I finally made it to the viewpoint!

What is the best thing for you about going on these trips?

It’s the chance to develop ideas and continue a theme with one group of people across a few presentations – and also the opportunity to observe first-hand the awesome side-effects of the Sun’s activity in the skies above us.

What do you think a trip scholar adds to a trip?

I would hope it’s a case of providing a wider context, not only for the night sky and northern lights that (I hope!) we’d observe but also for humanity’s place in the overall cosmos.

What do you think the alumni on the trip get out of the trip scholar’s involvement?

It’s the chance to hear from an enthusiast and someone who may have the ‘inside track’ on many of the ideas and recent developments in the field.

What is your dream trip scholar destination or themed tour? 

One of the larger moons of Jupiter or Saturn – watching the cloud patterns on the giant planet change, and the other moons swim in and out of view would keep us entertained for ages! But assuming we have to stick to an Earth-bound reality, then I’d propose an observing trip to one of the Dark Sky reserves in the Southern Hemisphere, such as those in Namibia or New Zealand. The southern sky is so much richer than that in the North – we see both right into the Galactic centre, and out to the Magellanic Clouds, small satellites of our Milky Way. Even better if we could combine forces with another trip scholar, and spend the days learning about the local ecology or geology before spending warm nights out under the stars.