Fred Watson

Professor

Host Residence Country: Australia
Professor Fred Watson is Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large, an outreach and advocacy role within the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.

He is a graduate of the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh and worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995.

Recognised internationally for helping to pioneer the use of fibre optics in astronomy during the 1980s, Fred is best known today for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and co-hosting the Space Nuts podcast with Andrew Dunkley.

He holds adjunct professorships in several Australian universities and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010.

He has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won't be his fault.

Fred has published a number of books which can be found here: https://amzn.to/3WAg0N7 or visit our shop.