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An Australian astronomer who appeared on the BBC’s Stargazing Live alongside Professor Brian Cox, has died aged 62.<\/b><\/p>\n
Greg Quicke from Broome, 2,000km (1,240 miles) north of Perth, was also known as “Space Gandalf” for his distinctive white beard.<\/p>\n
In the 2017 Stargazing Live Australia series he played the practical astronomer to Professor Cox\u2019s theoretical particle physicist.<\/p>\n
The series featured a report from Mr Quicke on why the night sky looks different in Australia compared to the UK. <\/p>\n
His media career also included a 10-part series on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) called A Stargazers Guide to the Cosmos and books including Is The Moon Upside Down? and Earth Turning Consciousness.<\/p>\n
Mr Quicke was also a renowned tour guide, running “astro tours” in his home town.<\/p>\n
He estimated that across 28 years there had been around 100,000 participants “including a BBC producer… who plucked me from the bush and onto the world stage”.<\/p>\n
Prof Cox said that he was “very sad” to learn of his former colleague’s death.<\/p>\n
Writing on X, he said: “I love what he wrote on seeing the solar eclipse in 2023. ‘My body spent, my heart full, I crash into a deep eclipse fuelled communion with the other worlds’. <\/p>\n
“I hope that\u2019s where he is now.”<\/p>\n
Mr Quicke had been diagnosed with cancer in 2023.<\/p>\n
A post on his website, published before his death, says: “Due to some cosmic, physical and other worldly challenges our 2024 stargazing season is unavailable, closed, shut, not happening and not happening.”<\/p>\n
Several people who attended his tours have paid tribute on social media, including Chris Ross of Sydney, who described it as “a cherished memory”.<\/p>\n
Western Australian journalist Sam Tomlin wrote on X that Mr Quicke was “one of the great scientific communicators of the modern era”.<\/p>\n
He was a “rare breed of nothing but good vibes” who had “made Broome a better place to be”, added tourism organisation Destination Broome on Facebook. <\/p>\n
The self-taught astronomer often told of his love of helping people get a greater understanding of the night sky.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the ABC in 2017, he said: “You think about astronomy and often it’s presented as stuff that’s out there.<\/p>\n
“But my take on it is that we’re on a planet. We’re moving through space.<\/p>\n
“These are things I can take out of your head and I can put them at your feet.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n