Date: April 2, 2010
Title: Richard Emmons
Podcaster: Brian Gray
Organization: Wilderness Center Astronomy Club: www.twcac.org
Description: Richard Emmons was Mr. Astronomy of the Canton, Ohio area.
Bio: Brian gray is a member of the Wilderness Center Astronomy Club and also presents shows at the Hoover-Price Planetarium
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by — no one. We still need sponsors for many days in 2010, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org.
Transcript:
Educator, shepherd of telescopes, observer, engineer, champion of the small sky: these are some words that describe Richard H. Emmons. Hello, My name is Brian Gray and I am a member of the Wilderness Center Astronomy Club located in Wilmot, Ohio. Our web site is www.twcac.org . After Emmons passed away in 2005, my club published a memorial newsletter honoring Mr. Astronomy. The information contained in the articles provided most of the information for this edition of the 365 Days of Astronomy.
Richard Emmons was born on May 29, 1919. This was the same day on which Arthur Eddington and his expedition were photographing the sky during a solar eclipse to measure any shift in star positions near the Sun that was predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Emmons’ passion for astronomy was sparked while reading a Popular Science article about asteroid 1932 HA that passed near the Earth.
Emmons proceeded to read every book about astronomy in the Canton, Ohio Library. He persuaded his father to buy a two-inch telescope. The scope saw first light when he observed Arcturus on July 25, 1932. While still in high school, he gave talks to luncheon clubs, chatted regularly on local radio programs, and wrote monthly columns for the local newspaper.
He went to college at Ohio Wesleyan, Kent State, and University of Southern California. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and then received his Master’s Degree from Kent State. He provided many opportunities for the general public to learn the night sky. In 1938 he built a 13-inch reflector and during the Fall Semester at Kent State on clear nights he offered open lectures and observing at the campus for those students and residents who were interested. During the Mars opposition in 1939, 1500 people visited the McKinley Monument in Canton to view Mars through Mr. Emmons’ 4 inch reflector.
Emmons taught physics and astronomy at the Canton Division of Kent State. He built a planetarium that he used from 1949 to 1950 to show the night sky to university and public school students. The projector consisted of an old Earth globe with 500 drilled holes to represent the stars, and larger holes were used in combination with various masks to represent the location of the Sun, Moon, and planets. The dome was a modified barn silo.
From 1952 to 1953 Emmons served briefly as Program Chairman and Head Lecturer at the Morehead Planetarium at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He returned to Ohio to work as an engineer. His previous experience with the planetarium at the Canton Division of Kent State impressed upon him the value of a small community planetarium. At his home he converted his garage into a Star Barn. The dome was a wire frame constructed by Emmons while his wife, Phyllis, sewed the fabric. The Star Barn hosted groups from schools and various community organizations. During the day when he was at work, high school students trained by Emmons would run prerecorded shows.
Emmons was the head of the North Canton volunteers of the Moonwatch project administered by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The Moonwatch Project involved volunteers observing the sky to track artificial satellites during the early years of the Space Race. Emmons taught members of the local team in the Star Barn and developed a satellite simulator for the planetarium. He also developed training methods for reducing reaction times and to improve precision of the data. He made calculations and submitted the compiled data to the SAO.
The Star Barn closed in 1963 as the Hoover-Price Planetarium in the McKinley Memorial Museum was about to open. Emmons gave guidance on the types of equipment needed and developed programming. He also drilled an additional 1500 holes to the Spitz A-3P projector and performed other modifications to the hardware. He loved the idea of small projectors for use in classroom settings and formed a business with his son, Tom, to build several projectors from the late 70’s to the early 80’s. Units were sold to schools and community organizations in England, Texas, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Ohio.
Emmons also continued his passion for artificial satellites. He regularly observed them, plotted their courses, and calculated their orbital parameters. He spent some time in the summer of 1966 and the fall of 1968 on Mount Palomar using a NASA mobile observatory to record photometric observations of satellites with a 24-inch Cassegrain on a four axis tracking mount.
Emmons retired in the early 80’s as an assistant professor at Kent State – Salem but continued as an avid amateur astronomer for many years afterwards. He was honored when an asteroid discovered in 1985 by Eleanor F. Helin was named after him in recognition of his work. 5391 Emmons is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 3.4 years and a rotational period of 3.028 hours.
Thank you for listening to the 365 Days of Astronomy.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
=====================
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow…goodbye.