Jack Horkheimer, Star Gazer passing

The Miami Herald has reported the passing of Jack Horkheimer, the astronomer who was a major influence on me as an amatuer astronomer in the 1980’s. He had a regular 5-minute show on PBS for a time, and taught the public naked eye astronomy. I rarely missed his program: it ran for over 20 years on PBS. He is missed by thousands. Here is the article from the Miami Herald:

By ELINOR J. BRECHER crline ebrecher@MiamiHerald.com
Jack Horkheimer, Public Television’s “Star Gazer,” died Friday afternoon of a respiratory ailment, according to a spokesman for the Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium.

Born June 11, 1938, he was 72.

In an e-mail to staff, museum officials said they were “very saddened to have just learned that our resident Star Gazer, Jack Horkheimer, passed away today after being ill for quite some time.

“Jack was executive director of [the] Planetarium for over 35 years and was an internationally recognized pioneer in popularizing naked-eye astronomy. He was also a recognized media celebrity, often being the foremost commentator on all astronomy related happenings nationwide.

Horkheimer was best known as the creator, writer and host of public television’s “Star Gazer,” the 30-year weekly TV series on naked eye astronomy. Seen on PBS stations nationwide, “Star Gazer” reached millions of people, helping create a love of the stars for several generations of enthusiasts.”

Arrangements are pending.