Walter Scott Houston
Encyclopedia
Walter Scott Houston was an American popularizer of amateur astronomy
. He wrote the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column in Sky and Telescope magazine from 1946 to 1993.
s and in 1931 he joined the American Association of Variable Star Observers
(AAVSO). Eventually, he contributed more than 12,000 variable star observations to AAVSO.
While living in Kansas in the 1950s, Houston undertook radio monitoring of meteor
activity. His group operated the first automated data collection system designed by amateurs for continuous, long-term collection of meteor event data. The same method forms the basis for most forward scatter
automated detection systems used today, although other methods are available.
In 1955, Houston recruited a few dozen people as satellite spotters for Operation Moonwatch
. In 1958, his Moonwatch station in Manhattan, Kansas
was the first to catch sight of Explorer I
, the United States' first satellite.
Houston was active in raising funds for the project, by giving talks about satellite watching and asking for contributions. He was so successful that the president of Kansas State University included Houston's team in his annual science research summary, and the Physics Department donated equipment to the group.
Houston is best known for the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column which he wrote for Sky & Telescope which popularized the observing of deep sky objects. His final column appeared in 1994, the year after his death. He also published a regional newsletter called The Great Plains Observer that was circulated to several thousand amateur astronomers.
Both Dr. Hayall and the University of the Sierras were fictitious.
The hoax soon gained worldwide attention when it was taken seriously by a Soviet scientist, Iosif Shklovsky
, in an interview with Komsomol Pravda
. Gerald Kuiper of the Yerkes Observatory
was quoted as saying about Shklovsky, "He is much too brilliant to believe such nonsense."
Amateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
. He wrote the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column in Sky and Telescope magazine from 1946 to 1993.
Biography
Houston was born in Tippecanoe, Wisconsin in 1912. He attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned a degree in English. After graduating, he taught at universities and public schools in Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, Kansas, Missouri and Connecticut. During World War II he was an instructor at the Advanced Navigation School for Army-Air Force pilots at Selman Field in Louisiana. In 1960 he moved to Connecticut where he became an editor for American Education Publications. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1974.Contributions to amateur astronomy
As a boy, Houston learned to build microscopes and telescopes and developed an interest in amateur astronomy. He soon observed all 103 nebulae and star clusters in the Messier catalog. While at the University of Wisconsin he began observing variable starVariable star
A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...
s and in 1931 he joined 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...
(AAVSO). Eventually, he contributed more than 12,000 variable star observations to AAVSO.
While living in Kansas in the 1950s, Houston undertook radio monitoring of meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
activity. His group operated the first automated data collection system designed by amateurs for continuous, long-term collection of meteor event data. The same method forms the basis for most forward scatter
Forward scatter
In telecommunication and astronomy, forward scatter is the deflection—by diffraction, nonhomogeneous refraction, or nonspecular reflection by particulate matter of dimensions that are large with respect to the wavelength in question but small with respect to the beam diameter—of a portion of an...
automated detection systems used today, although other methods are available.
In 1955, Houston recruited a few dozen people as satellite spotters for Operation Moonwatch
Operation Moonwatch
Operation Moonwatch was an amateur science program formally initiated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in 1956 . The SAO organized Moonwatch as part of the International Geophysical Year which was probably the largest single scientific undertaking in history...
. In 1958, his Moonwatch station in Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
was the first to catch sight of Explorer I
Explorer I
Explorer 1 was the first Earth satellite of the United States, launched as part of its participation in the International Geophysical Year...
, the United States' first satellite.
Houston was active in raising funds for the project, by giving talks about satellite watching and asking for contributions. He was so successful that the president of Kansas State University included Houston's team in his annual science research summary, and the Physics Department donated equipment to the group.
Houston is best known for the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column which he wrote for Sky & Telescope which popularized the observing of deep sky objects. His final column appeared in 1994, the year after his death. He also published a regional newsletter called The Great Plains Observer that was circulated to several thousand amateur astronomers.
Mars moon hoax
In 1959, Houston perpetrated a celebrated April Fool's hoax when he included an article in the April edition of the Great Plains Observer that made the following claim:Just last week Dr. Arthur Hayall of the University of the Sierras reports that the moons of Mars are actually artificial satellites... They are truly space stations in the most elaborate sense of the word... even though the race that flung them so magnificently into orbit may be dead and gone, they still orbit as the greatest monument to intelligent accomplishment yet known to mankind.
Both Dr. Hayall and the University of the Sierras were fictitious.
The hoax soon gained worldwide attention when it was taken seriously by a Soviet scientist, Iosif Shklovsky
Iosif Shklovsky
Iosif Samuilovich Shklovsky was a Soviet astronomer and astrophysicist...
, in an interview with Komsomol Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
. Gerald Kuiper of the Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Chicago in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. The observatory, which calls itself "the birthplace of modern astrophysics," was founded in 1897 by George Ellery Hale and financed by Charles T. Yerkes...
was quoted as saying about Shklovsky, "He is much too brilliant to believe such nonsense."
Books by Walter Scott Houston
- Deep-Sky Wonders, a collection of his columns from Sky & Telescope.
Named after him
- The "Walter Scott Houston Award" of the North East Region Astronomical League
- Asteroid 3031 Houston