Moravian University Astronomy StarWatch
StarWatch for the greater Lehigh Valley ---------------

STARWATCH SUBJECT INDEX   /   Hey, Who Writes StarWatch?  /   Professor Spotlight

50 Years of Stargazing and Teaching with Gary Becker

MCall Video:   Gary A. Becker retires from ASD Planetarium-2010

©1996-2024 Gary A. Becker   •   All photographs/diagrams, except where noted, are copyright Gary A. Becker.

Date Index to StarWatch Articles


2024 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2024 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2024
2023 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2023 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2023
2022 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2022 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2022
2021 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2021 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2021
2020 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2020 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2020
2019 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2019 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2019
2018 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2018 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2018
2017 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2017 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2017
2016 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2016 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2016
2015 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2015 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2015
2014 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2014 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2014
2013 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2013 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2013
2012 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2012 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2012
2011 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2011 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2011
2010 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2010 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2010
2009 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2009 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2009
2008 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2008 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2008
2007 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2007 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2007
2006 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2006 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2006
2005 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2005 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2005
2004 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2004 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2004
2003 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2003 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2003
2002 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2002 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2002
2001 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2001 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2001
2000 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 2000 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2000
1999 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 1999 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 1999
1998 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 1998 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 1998
1997 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 1997 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 1997
1996 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE 1996 JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 1996

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Hey, Who Writes StarWatch?

[Gary A. Becker]
Gary A. Becker, (left) StarWatch writer, loves the dark night sky as much as the bright city lights. Articles are written for mainly suburban audiences who also enjoy viewing the heavens.    (right) "Not another picture, Gary," says Brandon Velivis, a former astronomy student volunteering at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.    Photography by Lois Wolter, 2003...

[Gary A. Becker]
Gary A. Becker, hiking on Mt. Bierstadt (14,065 feet) along the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies during the summer of 2012...   (Insert) Bringing up the rear during one of the scarier parts of the hike, but NOT the scariest... Adam R. Jones photography...
 

Bio. of Gary A. Becker

Gary A. Becker has had a lifelong passion for astronomy, photography, and sky watching. As director for 38 years of the award-winning Allentown (PA) School District Planetarium and currently Adjunct Professor of Astronomy at Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA, Gary has taught astronomy from the preschool to the graduate level under the electronic as well as the natural sky.

Gary is an ardent traveler who has hosted tours to observe and photograph comets and eclipses. He has taken urban students to the Southwest to view the heavens from some of the darkest locales in the United States. He and his pupils volunteered as Night Sky Interpreters at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, NM, and Bryce Canyon National Park, UT, between 1999 and 2006.

In 2012, he joined the Astronomy Team of the Mars Society, where he helps to maintain and enhance the Elon Musk (Solar) Observatory and the MDRS Robotic Observatory at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah, the latter which supports the astronomy program at Moravian University.

Gary A. Becker's half-century of amateur and professional interests in astronomy have provided him with a unique perspective for writing and teaching. He has authored the book that his Moravian astronomy students use, edited the national newsletter of the Astronomical League, The Reflector, founded (1996) and continues to maintain as an educational outreach the very visual website astronomy.org, and has for over a quarter century written a homespun, informative weekly column called StarWatch which is distributed to the Moravian community and has appeared in newspapers nationwide. Gary has been constructing a research-grade observatory in his backyard for the past three summers.

At Moravian University, Gary has taught his astronomy course to over 800 Liberal Arts students in small group settings, emphasizing the practical aspects and natural beauty of the universe. With public donations, he refurbished the Sky Deck where students now learn how to operate computer-driven telescopes and make observations of the heavens from center city Bethlehem, PA. In addition, Gary's public funding allowed Moravian University to garner a 25 percent timeshare usage of the Mars Desert Research Stations' Robotic Observatory. Most recently, he spearheaded the Chambliss Medal, awarded each year to the top research-oriented science student graduating from the University.

Gary resides in Pennsylvania's beautiful Lehigh Valley with his wife, Susan, a retired English teacher who enjoys writing, and their three spunky Dutch rabbits.

 

Interest in Photography

It is safe to say that my original motivation to take pictures stemmed from my father who was an ardent Leica enthusiast. During my youth, photography provided me with a natural avenue to record the places and objects that I saw, as well as the night sky under which I observed. When I began to teach astronomy, I soon realized that my students were more motivated when I presented information and images gleaned from my own personal experiences. This motivational factor, which has only been enhanced by the digital revolution, has been a wonderful catalyst for me to continue my photography and to hone my images to the concepts about which I am teaching. Astronomy is truly a beautiful science, and what better way to express that, then through the photographic medium.

 

[Gary A. Becker]
Gary A. Becker, happy at the Mars Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah...   2013 image by Peter K. Detterline...

[Professor Spotlight]

[Professor Spotlight]

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