Amateur Astronomy Group Urges Public Participation

By Ryder W. Miller

Local astronomy organizations are busy recruiting star-gazing buffs by offering special events and inviting them to monthly events in San Francisco and at Mt. Tam in Marin County. They would like to see more amateur astronomers swell their ranks.

"Amateurs are now doing professional work. They are doing real astronomy," said Kenneth Frank, vice president of the Astronomy Association of Northern California. "With the Internet now, the exchange of information is incredible."

Frank said that even though astronomers are now competing with robot telescopes, amateur astronomers are making incredible discoveries. For example, Don Machholz discovered 10 comets with a six-inch telescope he bought as a kid.

"He was looking in places where (robotic telescopes) were not," Frank said.

Local astronomy buffs will also be celebrating the impact of local telescope maker John Dobson this summer. Dobson, who lives in San Francisco, is a local astronomy legend.

"The biggest impact on amateur astronomy is John Dobson," said John Dillon, president of the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers Association. Because of Dobson, amateur astronomers "can make their own telescopes. They can afford them."

Dillon recounts how, in the '60s, those interested in astronomy needed to make their own telescopes.

"Now, telescopes are a lot easier to get. They are better and cheaper," Dillon said.

At a "star party" held June 25 at the USS San Francisco Memorial at Lands End, Dillon gave a talk about the astronomy of ancient Greece. "That's where science began," Dillon said, "the scientific beliefs of Plato, Aristotle and their predecessors. Dillon said Aristotle, who if born in modern times would have been able to be a marine scientist, was a powerful figure in the field of astronomy for millennia.

"No society that lasted very long ignored the night sky," Dillon said.

Frank thinks it is important to get young people involved because there is a shortage of scientists and science educators. The group is celebrating astronomy's past by commemorating the efforts of Dobson Aug. 27 at the Randall Museum. Amateur astronomers will be celebrating his 90th birthday with various demonstrations, including on how to make telescopes.

"At events, people were coming up to Dobson and saying he changed their life," said Frank, who helps Dobson go to some events that are planned for him.

In a pamphlet handed out at the star party June 25, titled "Watchers of the Skies," Dobson wrote: "One of the problems of human knowledge is that the world which we see from the surface of this planet on a sunny day bears almost no resemblance to the universe at large. The universe is mostly gas, partly condensed by gravity from galaxies and stars, and lightly sprinkled, here and there, with interstellar dust. Although we, as living organisms, owe both our existence and our long genetic development to the sun, its dazzling brightness prevents us from seeing the universe by day. But seeing alone is not enough; it is only the beginning. We must also understand what we see."

The SF Amateur Astronomers invites the public to join and share with those interested in the wonders of the universe. There are monthly star parties at Land's End on the Saturday nearest the first quarter moon of the month. Just before sunset, there are informal talks. There are also monthly events above the fog at Mt. Tam and there are events by The Sidewalk Astronomers.

For more information about astronomy, contact the Web sites at www.sfaa-astronomy.org, www.aanc-astronomy.org or www.sidewalkastronomers.us. The hotline for SF Amateur Astronomers is (415) 289-6636.