My name is Martin Saban-Smith and I got into this amazing hobby Almost by accident on 3rd March 2007.

I'd just finished photographing a wedding in Basingstoke and came home as usual. About 11pm I went outside for a cigarette and discovered that the moon was somewhat red. So I dashed indoors thinking the world was going to end iminently and checked the Royal Observatory website to find that it was a total eclipse and I was looking at the moon just after it's peak...

So I grabbed the camera again and went outside and got the two shots you can see in the Solar System gallery.

And that was it...I needed a telescope.

When my new scope arrived, I was chuffed to bits (despite the fact it was bright orange!!) to be able to see so deep into space and wonder at the incredible sights out there...

Since then, I've enjoyed my astronomy so much that I've joined the SPA, overhauled the scope and seen some wonderful things through the telescope.

The patience and understanding of my wife has been truly staggering - she is a saint and I think she, and all partners of astronomers deserve medals for their ability to (almost) understand the pull of a dark sky, an empty field and a telescope has on us. I tip my hat to them all.