Jack Horkheimer, 'The Star Hustler,' Dies At 72

krswan writes "I'll bet many readers had their interest in astronomy fanned by Jack Horkheimer through his long running 'Star Hustler' (later changed to 'Star Gazer') program on PBS. His joy and enthusiasm for basic naked-eye astronomy was contagious, and more than once got me in big trouble as a kid for sneaking outside when his show ended at 12:05am, trying to find whatever he was presenting that week. Horkheimer passed away on Friday. There's a nice story at Sky and Telescope, including the epitaph he already wrote for himself: 'Keep Looking Up was my life's admonition // I can do little else in my present position.'"

Comments

Poem for Jack...

[poemtree]

...that I wrote in 1993, haven't felt this way since Sagan went...

FOR THE STAR HUSTLER, JACK HORKHEIMER

Incandescent night and still
amazing the number
of stars
you may see
in L.A., D.C., New York, N.Y.

Ocean City, Md., on the shore once
again the stars
few yet there
visible through the orange
haze of street light, parking lot.

Just twelve miles from here,
Assateaque, the whole
of the Milky Way
spilt into view—
crystalline, star–bloom.

Drive twelve miles more, find
the radio–array
at Wallops Island
sees stars—in remote
minor galaxies—already nova

in Roman times, a million light–
years won't show
for 998,000
more here, who then
will see a star explode?

Did Edison foresee the death
of night, forgotten stars?
Jack says
no one looks up anymore.
"Keep looking up. Keep looking up!"

Perhaps some day the power out
a whole grid gone down
a city will
reignite that ancient
pinhole nuclear fusion–light

so bright, so brilliant
that despite the ache
in our spines
we crane our necks
to look up, stare, configure.

I met Jack in 1987, he will be missed

[RedMage]

Jack was a charismatic person with an infectious personality. He always was genuine, and had a passion for teaching astronomy. I was traveling and visiting various planetariums up and down the East Coast, with a final stop in Miami to visit the Space Transit. Jack made me feel very welcome and gave me a ton of his time explaining what made his planetarium special. Eventually I came to know that it wasn't the equipment (although that draws the public in initially), but the people that make these programs successful. Jack Horkheimer brought the wonder of the universe down to earth for many people, and I'm glad to have known him, even if only for a short while.