Local Luminary: Bob Berman

by Sharon Nichols, July 27, 2011

The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life was shown to me in Woodstock—yet it was on the edge of our galaxy. Some time back in the mid-’90s, I put my eye to the lens of Bob Berman’s massive telescope and the universe was opened to me in a way it had never been before.

One of the most well-known and widely read astronomers in the world, Berman is a regular contributor to Astronomy magazine, Discover magazine, and The Old Farmer’s Almanac. He’s appeared on “Good Morning America,” “The Today Show,” “Late Night with David Letterman,” and NPR, and he’s the author of five books on astronomy, with his sixth coming out this summer. In 1976, Berman founded the Catskill Astronomical Society and began running the summer astronomy program at Yellowstone National Park in 1988. He is director of the Storm King Observatory in Cornwall, and of the Overlook Observatory in Woodstock.

In August, Berman will again teach a series of astronomy classes for the public in Woodstock on Friday evenings. You can’t help but love his friendly, dry wit and his ability to explain complex ideas in a way that anyone can understand. In addition to his upcoming classes, he’s also planning an Australian outback tour in 2012 to view a total solar eclipse; in the past he has lead aurora and eclipse expeditions as far away as the Arctic and Antarctic. For more information: www.skymanbob.com.

When did you know you wanted to become an astronomer?
Do you believe in destiny? My first recollection of life was being wheeled in a stroller or carriage and looking up at the starry night sky. I had no language yet. It’s my earliest memory. I’ve always been in love with the night sky. As a teenager, I memorized the name, spectral class, and distance of every named star in the heavens, just for fun.

Are you a spiritual person, perhaps an agnostic or pantheist?
Big question. I am not an agnostic. Closer to a pantheist, in that I see it all as a single entity with unfathomable underlying intelligence.

Fifteen years ago, you showed me an astonishing galaxy, M13. Do you have a favorite?
Yes, M13 is stunning. It’s a globular cluster on the fringes of our own galaxy, not a separate external galaxy. I have many favorites. That’s one of them.