Leslie Copus Peltier (January 2, 1900 – May 10, 1980) was an American amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and discoverer of several

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

s and

nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

e, including Nova Herculis 1963. He was once described as "the world's greatest non-professional astronomer" by

Harlow Shapley Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American scientist, head of the Harvard College Observatory (1921–1952), and political activist during the latter New Deal and Fair Deal. Shapley used Cepheid variable stars to estim ...

Biography

Leslie Copus Peltier was born in

Delphos, Ohio Delphos is a city in Allen and Van Wert counties in the U.S. state of Ohio approximately 14 mi (23 km) northwest of Lima and 13 mi (21 km) east of Van Wert. The population was 7,101 at the 2010 census. The Allen County po ...

. Delphos is located in northwestern Ohio in both Van Wert and Allen County. His homeplace was located on South Bredeick Street, and his home is still standing today. The home was known as Brookehaven. Peltier married Dorothy Nihiser in November 1933. An

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...

, he was a prolific discoverer of

s and also a persistent observer of

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as ...

s and member of the

AAVSO The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) is an international nonprofit organization, founded in 1911, focused on coordinating, analyzing, publishing, and archiving variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers. ...

. He was co-discoverer of 12 comets, 10 of which carry his name, and over a span of more than 60 years made more than 132,000 variable star observations.Delphos astronomer Leslie Peltier’s prescription: One dose of starlight each clear night before retiring
He wrote the autobiographical ''Starlight Nights'' (), which evokes the magic of stargazing in simpler days, on a farm and without

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

. Main-belt asteroid

3850 Peltier 3850 Peltier, provisional designation , is a Florian asteroid and suspected interloper from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 October 1986, by American astronomer Edward Bowell ...

is named in his honor, as is the Leslie C. Peltier Award of the

Astronomical League The Astronomical League is an umbrella organization of amateur astronomy societies. Currently their membership consists of over 280 organizations across the United States, along with a number of Members-at-Large, Patrons, and Supporting members. ...

Publications

Peltier authored the following books: * ''Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Star-Gazer'' (1965); also published in Japanese as ''Hoshi No Kuru Yoru'' (1985) * ''Guideposts to the Stars: Exploring the Skies Throughout the Year'' (1972); also published in Dutch as ''Spectrum Sterrengids'' (1976) and as ''Prisma Sterrengids'' (1979) * ''The Place on Jennings Creek'' (1977) * ''Leslie Peltier's Guide to the Stars'' (1986) * ''The Binocular Stargazer: A Beginner's Guide to Exploring the Sky'' (1995)

References

External links

Leslie C. Peltier at the AAVSO

1900 births 1980 deaths American astronomers Amateur astronomers Discoverers of comets * People from Delphos, Ohio {{US-astronomer-stub