Ian Ridpath

Who is Ian Ridpath?

Ian William Ridpath is an English science writer and broadcaster made famous for his investigation and explanation of the Rendlesham Forest Incident of December 1980.

He attended Beal Grammar School in Ilford where he wrote astronomy articles for the school magazine. Before entering publishing he was an assistant in the lunar research group at the University of London Observatory, Mill Hill. He now lives in Brentford, Middlesex.

He is editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy and Norton's Star Atlas, and author of observing guides such as The Monthly Sky Guide and the Collins Stars and Planets Guide. His other books include Star Tales, about the origins and mythology of the constellations, and the children’s book Exploring Stars and Planets, now in its fifth edition. He was a major contributor to the Dorling Kindersley encyclopedia Universe. He is a former editor of the UK quarterly magazine Popular Astronomy.

In 1990 he won an award in The Aventis Prizes for Science Books for The Giant Book of Space. In 2012 he received the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy.