Description

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Wil Tirion never had any education in astronomy. He education was focused on graphic arts and design, although the starry sky and especially star maps have always fascinated him. In the field of astronomy and uranography (mapping the sky), he is what they call autodidact.

In 1977, just for his own enjoyment, he started making his first star atlas, with stars down to magnitude 6.5). It was published in the Encyclopedia of Astronomy, edited by Colin Ronan, (Hamlyn, London, 1979) and in 1981 as a separate set of maps by the British Astronomical Association (B.A.A. Star Charts 1950.0).

In 1978, still as a hobby, he started working on a larger atlas: Sky Atlas 2000.0., showing stars down to magnitude 8.0. Its publication, in 1981 (by Sky Publishing Corporation, USA, and co-published by Cambridge University Press), resulted in requests from several publishers for star maps for different purposes. In 1983 he decided to quit his job as a graphic artist and designer, and became a full time uranographer. Since then he has created several star atlases, like the Bright Star Atlas and the Cambridge Star Atlas and has cooperated with other people on larger atlases like Uranometria 2000.0. He has also created numerous star maps for astronomy books and magazines.

In 1987 he was honoured by receiving the ‘Dr. J. van der Bilt-prize’, a Dutch award for amateur astronomers.

In 1993 this was followed by a second, more international ‘award’, when a minor planet was named after him: (4648) Tirion = 1931 UE.

About the Author

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Storm Dunlop is an experienced Astronomy and meteorology author andtranslator. Books include Clouds (Haynes, 2019), Gem Weather (Collins,2012), How to Read the Weather (National Trust, 2018), MeteorologyManual (Haynes, 2014), Practical Astronomy (Philip’s, 2012) and is thelead author for the bestselling annual Guide to the Night Sky (Collins).Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal MeteorologicalSociety and a member of the International Astronomical Union.Wil Tirion was trained in graphic arts and has always had an interest in astronomy and especially star charts. In 1983 he became a self-employed full time Uranographer. Since then he has contributed to many atlases, books and magazines. In 1987 he received the ‘Dr. J. van der Bilt-prize’, a Dutch award for amateur astronomers. In 1993 this was followed by a second, more international ‘award’, when a minor planet was named after him: (4648) Tirion = 1931 UE.The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian of the World, making it the official starting point for each new day and year. It is also home to London's only planetarium, the Harrison timekeepers and the UK's largest refracting telescope. It runs the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.