ASTRONOMER Royston Dean's working life is literally a world away from the mundane nine to five.

The stargazer uses a lifetime of knowledge gathered by navigating the heavens through his telescope to educate children about the universe.

Mr Dean, 56, takes his mobile planetarium to schools across Essex and treats them to a spectacular view of the night sky which takes pupils on a journey through our galaxy.

He can zoom into planets or zoom out to show the galaxy in all its glory across the roof of the planetarium.

Mr Dean said: "It's just like an igloo or a round tent and can get about 30 odd kids in there. The material comes from the space race.

"It came out of NASA research and you can only buy it from a company in the US.

"I do the whole presentation by speaking and showing. I show the sky as it would be seen away from the light pollution."

When he isn't taking children on a journey through the universe, Mr Dean lives and works at the Astronomy Resource Centre, in Main Road, Hawkwell.

It is there he offers free tours of the night sky to anyone interested in finding out more about the galaxy.

The Astronomy Resource Centre is also home to the Rawalpindi nursery which Mr Dean has run most of his life selling plants, trees, shrubs and other things found in the garden.

He said: "The two work really well. A lot of customers at the nursery will ask what they can see in the sky tonight.

"The only work I have ever really done is the school stuff. I don't think of the work at home as being a real job. It is not a job. They are things I like to do."