Ben Mayer
Encyclopedia
Ben Mayer was an amateur astronomer perhaps best known for the invention of the Projection Blink Comparator
(PROBLICOM). This low-cost version of a tool used by professional astronomers allowed amateurs to contribute to some phases of serious research.
Mayer was the first ever to photograph a nova
in its brightening phase. On the night of August 29, 1975, Mayer was using an automatic camera to photograph the sky, hoping to track meteors large enough to survive entry into the Earth's atmosphere. After learning of the nova, he realized it was in the part of the sky he was photographing. He retrieved his negatives from the trash (there were no meteors on the photographs) and found a series of images of Nova Cygni 1975 in several stages of brightening.
Mayer was a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
and a frequent lecturer at the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference
. In 1982 he won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
.
Blink comparator
A blink comparator was a viewing apparatus used by astronomers to find differences between two photographs of the night sky shot using optical telescopes such as astrographs. It permitted rapidly switching from viewing one photograph to viewing the other, "blinking" back and forth between the two...
(PROBLICOM). This low-cost version of a tool used by professional astronomers allowed amateurs to contribute to some phases of serious research.
Mayer was the first ever to photograph a nova
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...
in its brightening phase. On the night of August 29, 1975, Mayer was using an automatic camera to photograph the sky, hoping to track meteors large enough to survive entry into the Earth's atmosphere. After learning of the nova, he realized it was in the part of the sky he was photographing. He retrieved his negatives from the trash (there were no meteors on the photographs) and found a series of images of Nova Cygni 1975 in several stages of brightening.
Mayer was a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
American Association of Variable Star Observers
Since its founding in 1911, the American Association of Variable Star Observers has coordinated, collected, evaluated, analyzed, published, and archived variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers and makes the records available to professional astronomers, researchers, and...
and a frequent lecturer at the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference
RTMC Astronomy Expo
The RTMC Astronomy Expo is one of the major gatherings of amateur astronomers in the United States.Founded by Clifford W. Holmes and the Riverside Astronomical Society, the RTMC Astronomy Expo began in 1969 as the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference at Riverside City College in Riverside,...
. In 1982 he won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is a scientific and educational organization, founded in San Francisco on February 7, 1889. Its name derives from its origins on the Pacific Coast, but today it has members all over the country and the world...
.