Edward A. Halbach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward A. Halbach
Ed Halbach in 2003.jpg
Halbach in 2003 at the Spring AAVSO Meeting
Born(1909-04-05)April 5, 1909
Canby, Minnesota
DiedMarch 20, 2011(2011-03-20) (aged 101)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMarquette University
OccupationEngineer
EmployerAC-Delco, Allis-Chalmers, & Siemens-Allis

Edward A. Halbach (April 5, 1909 – March 20, 2011) was an American amateur astronomer and prolific variable star observer.[1]

He developed his interest in astronomy in 1933. One year later he became a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). He was also one of the first members of the Milwaukee Astronomical Society[1][2] and directed its observatory for 35 years.[3] In 1947 he was elected the first official president of the Astronomical League.[4] Besides his numerous variable star observations he was interested also in solar astronomy and occultations.[2]

Acknowledgement[]

The Astronomical League awarded Edward Halbach with the in 1972.[5] Halbach was the first living recipient of the Leslie C. Peltier Award in 1981 for his variable star and lunar occultation observations and contributions to artificial satellite programs.[6] The American Association of Variable Star Observers honoured him with the in 1988, for his record of more than 50,000 observations in the AAVSO International Database and for 54-year service in the society.[7]

He also won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for his variable star and occultation observations in 1997.[8] In 2003 he was awarded the of the AAVSO, acknowledging him, among others, as a promoter of variable star observing and a mentor of amateur astronomers. By that time he contributed to the society's database with over 98,000 observations.[2]

The Milwaukee Astronomical Society named one of their two 12.5 inches (32 cm) telescopes the "Edward A. Halbach Telescope" in his honour.[3] On April 7, 2009 he celebrated his 100th birthday, a landmark that was noted on the NBC television program Today.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Death Notice Edward A. Halbach". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  2. ^ a b c Kaiser, Daniel H.; Janet A. Mattei (2003-04-26). "The William Tyler Olcott Award 2003". The AAVSO. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  3. ^ a b "Armfield Observatory". The Milwaukee Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  4. ^ Allen, Charles E. "Buhl Planetarium Assists in Creation of The Astronomical League". The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  5. ^ "Previous Astronomical League Award winners". The Astronomical League. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  6. ^ Kolman, Roger. "The Astronomical League's Leslie C. Peltier Award". The AAVSO. Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  7. ^ "The Merit Award". The AAVSO. Archived from the original on 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  8. ^ "Past Amateur Achievement Winners". The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  9. ^ "Edward A. Halbach – 100 Years" (PDF). Milwaukee Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2015-01-11.
Preceded by Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific
1997 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""