FWD: Call for Moonwatchers

(Forwarded from sci.space.history)

Allen Thomson wrote:

The March 2004 AAS newsletter (American Astronomical Society) has the
following letter in it:

"Were you a Moonwatcher? If you took part in the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory's Project Moonwatch in the 1950s,
'60s or '70s, we would like to hear from you. From 1957 to
1975 many amateur astronomers (and some professionals) got
their start by helping visually locate satellites in the night
sky as part of a program coordinated by the SAO.

We are working on an NSF-supported project to research the
post-World War II history of the SAO, and hope to better assess
the impact of "Moonwatch", one of its defining programs. Although
the Smithsonian Archives contains ample information on Moonwatch,
we also need to locate as many members of the program as possible
today to fully appreciate the program. At this point we are
collecting names and contact information.

Interested parties may contact either David DeVorkin at the
National Air and Space Museum )
or Patrick McCay at the University of California Santa Barbara
)."