Sky & Telescope - April 2021 - 29

rename the building in honor of Theodor Jacobsen, who had
died in 2003, at age 102. It was a ﬁtting tribute to the professor who had devoted his life to the observatory and its goals.
The dedication ceremony on October 27th that year featured
a host of dignitaries and a total lunar eclipse. The Theodor
Jacobsen Observatory was in business.
To handle the expected crowds, Larson turned again to
the Seattle Astronomical Society. Amateur astronomer Mike
Langley couldn't raise his hand fast enough. An experienced
star-party host, he became the docent for the public outreach
program - a position he held for 15 years until turning over
the reins to fellow SAS member Jon Minnick three years ago.
Today, the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory public outreach
program is jointly managed by undergraduate students at the
University of Washington and by the Seattle Astronomical
Society. Students prepare lectures for class credit, while the
SAS manages the scope. They encourage the public to experience astronomy as it was performed over a century ago.

K A R A HOLLENBECK

A Stellar Source of Inspiration
My ﬁrst encounter with the telescope came on a rainy
ny evening in September 2019. The cloudy skies meant no stargazing, but Jon Minnick demonstrated the clock drive
ve and
explained how, on clear nights, the dome's slit opens,
ns, and
the drive is wound up manually to track the night's target.
A senior astronomy undergraduate provided an outstanding
standing
lecture on star life cycles. At one point, she mentioned the star Betelgeuse. Behind me, a little girl
celebrating her 10th birthday at the observatory
piped up: " That's my favorite star! "
Bruce Balick, a professor emeritus of astronomy, was also there that rainy September night.
He had become Observatory Director when Larson retired in 2018.
Balick told me Larson's story, adamant that she be given
her due. " Ana was the most inﬂuential person in thee modern
history of the observatory by far, " he said, with emphasis. " It
was a locked-up building, almost never used, and she resuscitated the whole thing. "
In October 2020 I drove to Mukilteo, Washington, to meet
Ana Larson in person. We sat socially distanced, masked, on
opposite picnic tables underneath an outdoor gazebo near the
ferry that brought Larson from her home on nearby Whidbey
Island. I told her about that little girl at the observatory and
her favorite star. " That happens all the time, " Larson said. I
could almost see her smiling behind her mask.
However, she was clear: In her view, the real credit for the
resurrection of the 6-inch refractor belonged to the undergraduates who relaunched the public nights. Larson's colleagues, though, sing her praises. If it hadn't been for her,
they told me, the scope could well have been scrapped.
As we wrapped up our conversation, Larson paused, then
suddenly made a connection. " People [asked] me way back
then, why do you want to be an astronomer? What are you
going to do with it? Why waste your time getting a PhD in

astronomy? " Then the connection. " Why put the telescope
back in use? What's gonna happen? "
She paused again. We both knew the answer.
All the astronomers whose work I've followed trace their
interest back to a moment in childhood when they looked
up at the night sky and were amazed at what they saw. Who
knows what the true impact of this humble refurbished
telescope will be? By seeing the value in something that others had dismissed, Larson resurrected a classic refractor for a
new generation of astronomers.
" Paula was important, " she concludes. " There were many
people who helped. It just takes important people. " And perhaps some of them, as both of us had seen, are only 10 years
old. Perhaps this antique telescope, like the educators who
fought to save it, is one that not only shows us the heavens,
but points to the future.

 NICOLE NAZZARO is a science writer in Edmonds,
Washington, whose work has appeared in The New
York Times, Sports Illustrated, and Runner's
World. She holds a degree in the
premedical sciences from Edmonds College.

Public Viewing at the Theodor
Jacobsen Observatory
The Observatory was closed for the entire 2020
season due to COVID-19. For information on 2021
visitation dates and to make reservations, visit
https://is.gd/jacobsenobservatory.
The regular viewing season runs from April
through September, two evenings per month when
the university is back in session. Reservations are
free, but booking several months in advance is essential as the lecture hall only accommodates 45
visitors at a time.
S A SCOPE RESTORED The 6-inch refractor as it appeared in
2001. Peter Hirtle of the Seattle Astronomical Society repaired the
clock drive and tested the objective lens. Unnamed brave souls
removed the wasp nest they found inside the telescope tube.

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Sky & Telescope - April 2021

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