Leslie C. Peltier Award

The heart of amateur astronomy is observing. We can read all we want about astronomical phenomena, but the real joy in astronomy is going out under the night sky and observing the objects about which we have read. But while most of us are casual observers of the sky, looking at the same few objects over and over, a few amateur astronomers develop their observing skills to the ultimate degree. They then use these skills to make careful observations of the sky and record them for scientific analysis.

Whether the observation is done with a photometer, CCD, spectroscope, or just the human eye, the ability to find an object and record scientifically useful detail is not a common trait. To recognize the amateur astronomer who is not only able to do this, but has contributed their observations to an ongoing observing program, the Astronomical League presents the Leslie C. Peltier Award. The Peltier Award was created in 1980 and the first was awarded in 1981.

The award is named after Leslie C. Peltier, the Delphos, Ohio, amateur astronomer who Harlow Shapley, one of the League's founders, referred to as "the world's greatest nonprofessional astronomer". Born January 2, 1900, he discovered twelve new comets and four novae. But his real contribution was the over 132,000 variable star observations he made in his sixty-two year observing career. He also wrote many articles on astronomy and penned four books. To easy his observing, he built an enclosed "merry-go-round" observatory. He died in 1980.

It is in his memory, and to celebrate his life-long love of the heavens, that the Astronomical League presents the Leslie C. Peltier Award.

Purpose.

The League shall present an annual Leslie C. Peltier Award to an amateur astronomer who contributed to astronomy observations of lasting significance.

Procedure for Nomination.

1. A three (3) person Peltier Award Committee shall be established, which shall execute the nomination and selection process, and shall be responsible for the design and sponsorship of the representative plaque.

2. Nominations shall be sent to the committee chair, who will forward the name(s) to the committee members for their selection by simple majority vote. The committee chair shall maintain a permanent list of nominees not selected, for consideration in future years.

3. Dates for the implementation of this process shall be set by the committee. The award shall be presented at the banquet of the annual convention or, if none is held, at the largest gathering of League members at the convention.

 

 

 

Derald D. Nye was born in Oakley, Kansas in 1935. He graduated from Oakley Consolidated High School in 1953. Following graduation, he served 2 years in the United States’ Army from 1955 – 1957.

 

He graduated from Kansas State University in 1961 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he was employed by International Business Machines (IBM) at locations on the East Coast; Boulder, Colorado; and Tucson, Arizona until his retirement in August, 1991.

 

His interest in astronomy began while he was in high school, but he didn’t grind his first mirror, an eight inch, until 1964 while working at Cape Kennedy on the Saturn 1B and Saturn V instrument units. He attended his first Astronomical League national meeting in 1966 in Miami, Florida.

 

During his time in Florida, his interest in occultations began with his first lunar graze.

 

He married Denise Blum 1973. Together they traveled to 28 solar eclipses. Denise died unexpectedly March 13, 2006, four days before they were to leave for the solar eclipse in Libya. He has now been on 35 solar eclipse trips and will leave for Tahiti on July 8th to observe his first one from an airplane.

 

In 1991, upon his retirement from IBM, he became the full-time proprietor of his private Kirmser-Wakabayashi Observatory locatedat his home in Corona de Tucson, Arizona. Derald is a longtime member of IAPPP, the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO). and the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA).

 

He has travelled to many interesting occultation events, including the recent rare simultaneous lunar occultation of Venus and Jupiter seen from Ascension Island.

 

Derald is the longtime distributor of the Minor Planet Bulletin published by ALPO and his reports have been published in several other astronomical journals. In 1996 Derald and his wife Denise were honored by having Asteroid 3685 named Derdenye for them.

 

Currently, his work primarily involves observing asteroid occultations.

 

He has spoken before many groups and is an inspiration to a new generation of observers.

 

 

Previous Peltier Award Winners.

 

 

Leslie C. Peltier Award Committee

Roger S. Kolman, Ph.D., Chairman

Barry Beaman, Member

Russ Maxwell, Member