50 replies to this topic

[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a photo of my signed copy of the very useful Bright Star Atlas 2000.0.

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[Pat Rochford]

I made sure to bring my copy of Sky Atlas 2000 to the 2005 Whirlpool Star Party at Birr Castle (Ireland). 

 

Never had the desire to have a celebrity autograph something of mine, but certainly made an exception with this man.  A brief but memorable conversation all these years later. 

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[NightSkyGuy]

Now available is a remembrance of Wil Tirion written by Govert Schilling:
https://skyandtelesc...rion-1943-2024/

Clear skies,
Kelly

[RobertED]

He made it better for all of us! God Bless You, Wil!!

[Raul Leon]

Sad news indeed..I own several of his books. RIP Wil

[kt4hx]

I have a copy of that book and agree completely.

 

https://www.amazon.c...r/dp/0671689274

 

Thanks for the link Dave, I just ordered a copy.

 

This is truly sad news as like many here I own multiple examples of Wil's work. His genius and dedication to the craft will live on in his works. RIP amongst the stars Wil.

[pugliano]

Thanks for the link Dave, I just ordered a copy.

 

This is truly sad news as like many here I own multiple examples of Wil's work. His genius and dedication to the craft will live on in his works. RIP amongst the stars Wil.

Ordered that too, and two other books of his that I hadn't heard of before that I thought I might like.

 

Thanks, herschelobjects, for posting those books!

Edited by pugliano, 10 July 2024 - 05:18 PM.

[starquake]

Very sad news, may he rest in peace. I hope he knew what an enormous impact he had in amateur astronomy around the globe.

[deSitter]

Now available is a remembrance of Wil Tirion written by Govert Schilling:
https://skyandtelesc...rion-1943-2024/

Clear skies,
Kelly

I think of him and Robert Burnham as two sides of the same artistry. Both had the same absolute passion for the sky. And both are endlessly rewarding. Sometimes I just take out my charts to admire their craft. Alas Burnham had a sad end on the streets of San Diego, selling paintings of cats. After all he had done for our community, he fell through the cracks and gaping holes in the social safety net.

 

-drl

[Lentini]

Very sad news. I always had great confidence that a book or atlas was going to be worth getting when I saw his name attached. 

[grzesznypl]

Owned and still do many of his atlases over years. This is huge loss to astronomy community. 

[Jehujones]

 

[RAKing]

I will always treasure my star atlases.  Awesome works!

 

Wil is now with the stars.  

 

Rest in Peace,

 

Ron

[Joshua Roth]

I have been giving Wil's smaller and more introductory atlases as gifts to aspiring skywatchers for many years now. And, like many here, I got my start with Sky Atlas 2000 (and an Edmund Astroscan, usually atop Mount Pinos in southern California). His work remains a true gift to those who seek a path among the stars. Clear skies - JR

[JOEinCO]

Thank you for everything, Mr Tirion....

[Astrocartician]

As someone who attempts to make star maps, I think this sort of cartography is underrated. It requires a lot of attention to the smallest details so as to be able to bring the art out of the science. Wil Tirion did this better than anyone else in the modern era.

Edited by Astrocartician, 15 July 2024 - 07:30 PM.

[Mike Swan]

Very sad to hear the passing of the great man.

 

We only ever met once, and I’ve been trying to rack my brain to think what year that was. It was at a BAA Winchester Weekend, where he was introduced to me – not vice-versa! All I can tie it down to is sometime in the 1980s, because during our conversation he asking me what I was working on. They were my Galactic Star Charts - charts that were only for my personal use in nova hunting, and would never be published as an atlas because it would take far too long to finish. He liked the idea of an atlas based on the galactic plane, and that he might have a go himself. As far as I know he never completed one.

 

Of course those were the days when we drew star charts by hand. Now its all computer aided design. But that doesn’t change the way an atlas is constructed. Astro-cartographers need to get their information from somewhere, whether it be in hard copy or database form. Wil would have realised the need to have correct reliable source data.

 

As an example I’ve attached a copy of one of my Galactic Deep-Sky Charts. It goes outside my usual +17/-17 degree parameters to cover the dark nebulae at the Taurus/Perseus/ Aries borders. The quality is not brilliant, due to having to reduce it to below 500k.

 

The dark nebula Barnard 2 (B 2 – just north of B 1) is not plotted - because it does not exist in the sky. You will find it plotted on the charts in the MSA, Interstellarum and probably other atlases. The compilers of these atlases obviously relied on Barnard’s book of "Selected Regions" to be correct.

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•  Chart 51A 300dpi.pdf   498.35KB   46 downloads

[Mike Swan]

This attachment is the catalogue page for Chart 51A. They sit on opposing pages of the atlas. I have simplified the numbering system for the brightness and opacity of bright and dark nebulae, by trying to standardise the various numbered descriptions in the catalogues:

 

Bright Nebulae: “very faint” (vF) through "moderate” (M) to “very bright" (vB)

 

Dark Nebulae: “very light" (vL) through "moderate" (M) to "very dark" (vD)

 

Something similar to van den Bergh’s descriptions in the 1966 publication “A Study of Reflection Nebulae".

Attached Files

•  Chart 51A Catalogue Page.pdf   35.28KB   33 downloads

[AaronF]

sad to hear this

I have one of his last books in front of me now - the Night Sky Almanac - A Stargazer's Guide To 2024 (co-authored with Storm Dunlop) - it's a really nice book and I refer to it often.

I've just spotted the 2025 edition which he was fortunately able to complete and I'll have to buy.

[obrazell]

Mike were you not there when he talked at one of the Webb Soc AGM's ? I guess you may have moved to Ireland at that point.

[Mike Swan]

Owen, that was the 2014 AGM. Unfortunately I was unable to fly back to the UK for that one.

[Pinballwiz]

Sad to hear of his passing! His numerous contribution to the field of astronomy will never be forgotten. RIP.

[CygnuS]

I'm late to this news, having just read it moments ago in October's issue of Astronomy magazine. I was shocked as if I had lost a good friend. And then I stepped back and asked myself why, especially since I knew little about him personally or if he was still alive. But I knew how much I loved his books and that he was a legend in astronomy....and I knew how much I appreciated his work, to the point where I felt like I knew him even though I didn't. There is just something about the night sky that binds us in a kinship and authors like him are the glue.

It's strange to think I'll miss  a person I never knew or met but like Terence Dickinson, when you had their books on the table when planning a night of observing, it almost felt as if they were heading out with you. My late condolences to his family and to everybody here who misses him. 

[BoldAxis1967]

.....There is just something about the night sky that binds us in a kinship and authors like him are the glue.

It's strange to think I'll miss  a person I never knew or met but like Terence Dickinson, when you had their books on the table when planning a night of observing, it almost felt as if they were heading out with you. ...

 

Nicely stated. 

 

L.   

[Astrocartician]

 

It's strange to think I'll miss  a person I never knew or met but like Terence Dickinson, when you had their books on the table when planning a night of observing, it almost felt as if they were heading out with you. My late condolences to his family and to everybody here who misses him. 

This is what all artists and writers should aspire to because when they leave this world all they take with them is what others feel about them.