Antony Cooke

It has been said that music and astronomy go hand in hand. Antony Cooke's passion for both fields was clear very early in his life, but music ultimately would claim his career. A cellist of international renown, Cooke has been one of the leading players in the Hollywood recording industry for many years, having been Associate Professor of Cello at Northwestern University in Chicago until 1983. He is a U.S. citizen but was born in Australia and educated in London, receiving numerous prizes and awards, including the Gold Medal at the London Music Festival. The dual nature of Cooke's interests continued, astronomy remaining the counterbalance in his life. Always looking for ways to improve his existence at the eyepiece, he has constructed many telescopes over the years, with increasing sizes being the hallmark of his (often-quirky) designs. He has published four books for Springer, Visual Astronomy in the Suburbs (2003), Visual Astronomy Under Dark Skies (2005), Make Time for the Stars (2009) and recently, Dark Nebulae, Dark Lanes and Dust Belts (2012).