Damian Peach, one of Britain's most decorated amateur astronomers, has tested a $50 telescope bought on Facebook Marketplace, adding a low-cost twist to a career marked by some of the finest planetary images ever captured by a ground-based observer. Peach, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, has spent more than three decades looking at the night sky, and his decision to try such an inexpensive instrument stands out in a field often associated with costly, high-end equipment.
Peach's interest in astronomy began in 1988, when he was inspired by books in his school library. He joined the British Astronomical Association in 1996 and went on to contribute a large volume of observations to its various observing sections. He has also written and co-authored many papers in the association's journal, establishing himself as a serious observer as well as an accomplished photographer.
His achievements have been recognized with a string of awards. In 2006 he received the British Astronomical Association's Merlin Medal and, in the same year, the Walter H. Haas award from the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. He later received the Astronomical League's Peltier award in 2018 and the Société Astronomique de France's Julien Saget Prize in 2022. In 2017, asteroid 27632 was renamed Damianpeach by the International Astronomical Union in recognition of his contributions to amateur astronomy.
Peach's images have been published in Astronomy Magazine, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy Now and The Sky at Night, and he has written articles on astrophotography for those publications. His work has also been used by NASA and ESA to demonstrate what ground-based telescopes can achieve in photographing the planets, and to show the support amateur observers can provide to professional space probe missions. His planetary portraits have appeared at exhibitions including the national Explorers of the Universe display at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007, the Edinburgh Science Festival and the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
One of the highlights of his career came in 2011, when he was crowned overall winner of the Royal Greenwich Observatory's astrophotographer of the year competition. He was a prize-winning finalist in that competition each year from 2012 to 2018. He also took first place in the National Science Foundation's Comet ISON photo competition, and his image of the comet was used by media outlets around the world during the comet's close approach to the Sun.
Peach has also become a familiar presence on British television. He first appeared on the BBC's All Night Star Party in 2003, where he imaged Mars live from the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma. He subsequently appeared many times as a guest on The Sky at Night, the long-running BBC astronomy program hosted by Sir Patrick Moore, and has also appeared on BBC news and The Discovery Channel. Over the past 20 years he has given public talks to amateur and professional organizations alike.
In 2017, Peach was part of a small team of observers who used the famous Pic du Midi Observatory's 1.06-meter telescope to obtain some of the most detailed ground-based images of Jupiter and Saturn ever recorded. The collaboration highlighted the continuing role that skilled amateurs can play in planetary science, a theme that makes his latest experiment with a $50 Facebook Marketplace telescope all the more curious.
The purchase offers a reminder that the tools of astronomy can range from professional observatory instruments to the most modest secondhand gear. For an observer whose name is attached to some of the most celebrated amateur images of the planets, the budget telescope represents a different kind of skywatching challenge and a striking example of how curiosity can thrive without a large budget.
