Welcome to Light Vortex Astronomy, a website about my practice of and tutorials on astrophotography. My name is Kayron Mercieca and I am a physicist working as a secondary school Mathematics and Physics teacher in Gibraltar. I am also a committee member of the Gibraltar Astronomical Society and partner of the Entre Encinas y Estrellas (e-EyE) remote hosting site in Extremadura, Spain. 

My interest in Astronomy began as a child, looking at Jupiter through a very basic Tasco refractor. In the many years that followed, I progressively specialised more and more in Physics, getting an MSci Physics with Astronomy degree at the University of Nottingham, UK. This was followed by further specialisation through the completion of an MSc Physics degree at Imperial College London, UK. At the time, my career goals were to pursue a career in academic research. I began this journey by starting a PhD at the Plasma Physics Research Group in Imperial College London, UK. A three-week teaching experience course I signed myself up for however showed me I enjoyed teaching, hence my moving on to completing a PGCE Science course with a specialism in Physics. This career move was accompanied by a physical move back home to Gibraltar, pushed by the better weather, much higher disposable income and generally easier lifestyle. And so, my wife, my cat and I packed our things in London and flew South to Gibraltar to settle in August 2012 (after spending 8 years in the UK as a University student).

After numerous years wanting to buy a telescope, I was finally able to pull the trigger on this when I moved back home to Gibraltar. My ultimate goal has been to get into astrophotography and I started that immediately after receiving the first batch of equipment. I thought, what better way to celebrate this hobby than by creating a website of my own to illustrate my work and help teach others things I have gathered and learned. 

This website represents the second iteration of Light Vortex Astronomy, to make it more than just a blog - a full website with dedicated pages and a nicer format that I can easily expand upon. To keep with tradition, the main page is the blog page. The difference is that now, each article and tutorial has its own permanent sub-page and the blog in itself is for more casual posts and for update notifications of new articles and tutorials. You will find the Search bar for this website on the top-right of every page. To the left of the Search bar are buttons linking to Light Vortex Astronomy's dedicated Facebook page, my Twitter account, my Flickr photostream and my e-mail address (that you are free to use to contact me, or use the contact form to the right for a quick message). You may also find me on the AstronomyShed UK, Astronomy Forums, Stargazer's Lounge and Cloudy Nights forums. Additionally, I can be found lurking around various Facebook groups such as Telescope Addicts, Disciples of the Dark Arts, Online Astronomical Society, Amateur Astrophotography and Astronomy for Beginners (The Imaging Group). 

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