Robin Leadbeater

My main interest is astronomical spectroscopy which I have been doing since 2002, measuring the spectra of a wide range of objects from meteors to high redshift Quasars and everything in between using a number of different instruments and resolutions. (A memorable highlight was measuring the redshift of a quasar from Patrick Moore's back garden in 2005 for "The Sky at Night" programme using a school science lab diffraction grating and home built camera based on a modified webcam). That year I developed the Star Analyser filter mounted diffraction grating as a simple way for amateurs to try spectroscopy which has introduced thousands of amateurs worldwide to this fascinating field. In 2014 I developed the ALPY200 spectrograph specifically for faint object spectroscopy, using it to make the first official classification of a supernova by an amateur in 2016. In 2019 I was awarded the BAA Merlin Medal for my work in this area.