Sir Patrick Moore, AAVSO Member & Observer

A serendipitous discovery of perhaps the most famous member in AAVSO history...

 

Sir Patrick Moore is a name recognizable to almost any amateur astronomer in the English speaking world. In England, his popularity extends even to the general population due largely to his efforts to popularize astronomy, such as the astronomy weekly television show he's hosted for more than 55 years. 

Did you know he was also an AAVSO member and active observer!?  I stumbled upon his membership application from 1968 while going through the AAVSO membership application archives for the demographic survey project.


Click on the image for a higher resolution version. His address is redacted to preserve privacy.

His observer code is "MOP" and he has 2,183 observations in the AAVSO International Database. His first observation was in 1954 and his last in 1990, spanning 36 years! Below is a 1968 light curve of SS Cyg with some of his observations highlighted with blue crosses.

His application for membership was submitted well after he had already become famous and was hosting his television show. It's a testament to his dedication to astronomy that he was expanding his observing activities after he had become famous and popular.