Duncan Lunan

Duncan Lunan was born in Edinburgh in 1945 and educated at Marr College, Troon, and at Glasgow University, gaining an M.A. (Honors) in English and philosophy, with physics and astronomy as supporting subjects. He holds a postgraduate Diploma in Education.

He has published four nonfiction books on astronomy and
spaceflight to date, plus a collection of short stories and an anthology which he edited. He has contributed to 20 other books to date, and published 33 short stories and nearly 800 articles. He was the assistant curator of Airdrie Public Observatory 1987–1997, and again in 2003–2008. With his wife Linda, he has launched a new organization to support newcomers to astronomy, ‘Astronomers of the Future.’

In 1978–1979, as manager of the Glasgow Parks Department Astronomy Project, he designed and built the first megalithic observatory in Britain for 3,000 years; in 1990–1991 he was photo archivist for the Press Centre during Glasgow’s year as European City of Culture. In 2006–2008 he was manager of the North Lanarkshire Astronomy Project, organizing nearly 700 events including more than 450 school visits, and otherwise has been a full time writer since 1970.