Career
He has been called the "Peoples" Astronomer". Thompson has lived in Norfolk all his life and was first enthused about astronomy aged 10 when he saw the rings of Saturn through a telescope. He has remained living in the county because the night skies are very dark and ideal for stargazing.
Thompson had given up his ambition to present on television and had retrained as a pilot when (in 2009) he was picked to become a presenter on the British Broadcasting Corporation"s The One Show.
He is President of the Norwich Astronomical Society. Since it was founded in 1820 as the Astronomical Society of London (receiving its Royal Charter in 1830 from King William IV) it has had many amateurs on its council, including many of its founding members (of the original 12 founding members in 1820, 11 were amateurs, including the Sir John Herschel, the son of William).
He is most well known for his role as one of the presenting team of the hit British Broadcasting Corporation science show Stargazing Live. As of February 2015 Thompson had 76,200 followers on Twitter.
Presenter of astronomy/science items for The One Show July 2009 to October 2011 Presenter of Stargazing Live January 2011 to present Specialist Presenter on the Alan Titchmarsh Show January 2012 to 2014 Guest on The Wright Stuff 12 January 2012 Monthly Night Sky segment on Radio Five Live January 2012 to present Derren Brown"s Apocalypse episode 1 in October 2012 Celebrity Mastermind Contestant 5 January 2013 Regular guest on This Morning (television programme) March 2014 to present day.
