Fiona Vincent

I was brought up in Edinburgh, and I studied astronomy at the University of St.Andrews, as an undergraduate and a postgraduate, finally getting my PhD in 1980.

I have done a variety of jobs, including a spell with the BBC World Service in London. From 1982 to 1994 I held the post of City Astronomer in Dundee, looking after the Mills Observatory - Britain’s only full-time public observatory. For some years I was editor of the Scottish Astronomers’ Group newsletter SAGMag.

My chief astronomical interest is in asteroids and other small solar-system objects. I have worked in astrometry (accurate measurements of positions) and in photometry (measurements of brightness). I have also been involved in observing asteroid occultations: when an asteroid passes in front of a distant star, its shape and size can be deduced from the time the star disappears and reappears at various locations.

I am an honorary member of staff at St.Andrews University, in the School of Physics and Astronomy. From 1996 to 2003 I was an active member of the team taking the St.Andrews mobile planetarium on trips to schools, during which time I presented nearly 200 shows. I still provide simple information on what’s in the sky.

In February 1998, I gave a short series of lectures on Positional Astronomy for second-year students at St.Andrews. Notes for these lectures are available for users within the University.

I am also employed by the Open University. I have tutored, or acted as Study Adviser, on several OU astronomy courses; I am currently tutoring the second-level course Science in Context and the third-level course on Astrophysics. I have also studied various Open University courses, such as geology, the history of mathematics, women’s studies and the technology of music.

In 2007 I started training as a keep-fit teacher with Medau Movement, and I now lead a weekly exercise class for older women in St.Andrews.

I live in St.Andrews with Roger Stapleton. I gave up driving a car some years ago; I get around on foot, by bicycle, or using public transport. Other non-astronomical interests include: amateur radio; hand-spinning, knitting and other needlework; gardening; and certain areas of science fiction/fantasy (I share my name with a starship).

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