Fred Watson is Astronomer-in-Charge of the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) at Siding Spring near Coonabarabran, NSW, and Project Manager for the international RAVE radial velocity survey of a million stars.
 

The AAO operates Australia's largest optical telescope (the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope) and its wide-field companion, the 1.2-m UK Schmidt Telescope. Funded jointly by the Australian and British governments, the AAT provides front rank observing facilities for astronomers world-wide. The Schmidt Telescope is funded by the International RAVE Consortium.

Contact details: Fred Watson, Anglo-Australian Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW 2357 phone 02 6842 6301  fax 02 6842 2266 e-mail fgw@aao.gov.au
 

Photo (left) courtesy University of Oxford. The one on the right was taken in a different universe.

Stargazer - the Life and Times of the Telescope

Fred's lively account of the telescope and the extraordinary people who created it was released in Australia by Allen & Unwin in 2004. It is now available in paperback, published in the USA by Da Capo. There is also a Dutch edition, Sterrenkijker,  published in Holland by Athenaeum.  Read some reviews of Stargazer.