Solar System Ambassadors
Mark England
Mark England got hooked on astronomy when he purchased a cheap 4-inch, computer controlled reflector telescope in the early 2000's. This led to a passion to take pictures. Around 2010, he went to a small star party where they were starting to use digital cameras and CCD cameras. This renewed his passion to capture what he could see in the night sky. Shortly after he purchased an 8-inch computer-controlled telescope. Over the next couple years he slowly learned how to take pictures using his DSLR camera. While being very satisfied with these images he would see images that were simply far and above what he was producing. Then in 2018 he stepped up to a 10-inch and his first dedicated astronomy camera. He devoted an increasing amount of spare time to learning how to take, stack and process astrophotography images. In 2019 he built a personal roll-off-roof observatory so he could leave his telescope set up year round. He has continued to learn and be intrigued by space and astronomy. He continued to advance his astrophotography and attempted to share his captured images with friends family and the public. He now has three telescopes with a portable outreach setup. He loves to share his knowledge and passion with others. This led him to become a docent at the Belk Observatory located in Bedford, Virginia where he has been able to extend his passion and share it with the public.