Sky & Telescope March 1999 [antikvár]

LJspectrumCalling All SuperstarsI was struck by some commentaries that preceded John Glenn's recent flight that astronauts had become nameless and faceless in the purview of U.S. society. That observation seems to me to be spot on. Tonight I could easily recall the Mercury gang and those on Apollo 11, but beyond that only a handful of names because they were catchy or were attached to a mission special to me caused my gray cells to synapse.Then it hit me. The same anonymity has befallen spokesmen for astronomy. (I'm not being sexist here; so far it's been a boy's club.) Simplyput, we're running short of heroes to walk onto the vast public stage.Asimov is gone, Sagan too only a couple of years have passed and already it seems like forever. And giants like Clarke and Moore aren't getting any younger. (Please, let's not argue about who's a "real" astronomer. I'm talking about anyone who speaks for us and who has name recognition before an international audience.) Sagan reached this century's pinnacle with Cosmos. A true superstar, he nevertheless followed other 20th-century giants such as Eddington, Flammarion, Gamow, Lowell, New-comb, and Shapley. (Of course, the impact of a superstar upon the public has grown dramatically over the years because of expanded communications.)Folks who qualify as superstars today should pass what I call the "Moore Test." Here's an example of how it works.Like many other cruise ships, mine docked at Curaçao after the February 1998 eclipse. Ashore, I ran into other SifeT editors leading tours on other ships of the same line. I wanted to take them aboard, but the officer of the day said no for security reasons. Minutes later I ran into Pat Moore. Because of past experiences with this celeb, I ushered him to the gangplank. The response was as anticipated: "Welcome aboard. Dr. Moore!" Upon our walking into a lounge, the bartender said: "Dr. Moore, may I get my camera and add you to my celebrity collection? Drinks are on the house!"Who else is left in our pantheon of contemporary heroes? Hawking certainly qualifies, but after him I don't see any other giants. Yet things may not be as bad as they seem. Grabbing at least a piece of the celestial brass ring are David Levy (U.S.), David Malin (Australia), Martin Rees (U.K.), and Hubert Reeves (France).What worries me is that it may be increasingly difficult to raise superstars from the professional ranks too much peer pressure, too much paperwork in grubbing for grants, and so on. National funding agencies now require that public-outreach programs be incorporated into grant proposals, but bureaucratic "rules" don't create Clarkes, Moores, and Sagans. Talent creates Clarkes, Moores, and Sagans.