Robert Shirley Richardson (April 22, 1902 – November 12, 1981) was an American

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, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

, born in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which includ ...

. He also published

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Philip Latham.

Career

Philip Latham can support the suppositions that are the basis of his science fiction novels with accepted scientific theories. For he's an author who's in the business of "watching the stars." An astronomer at Mount Wilson and Palomar Observatories since 1931, he started writing for magazines in the early forties. His work won such wide respect that he now has a college textbook on astronomy to his credit. Movie producers as well as publishers find Mr. Latham's experience too good to pass up. He has given technical assistance to a number of studios on pictures such as '' Destination Moon'', and he has written an article describing the work on the science fiction thriller ''
When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel ''After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through Fe ...
''. :— From the back flap of the dust jacket on ''
Five Against Venus ''Five Against Venus'', written by Philip Latham, is a science-fiction novel first published in the United States in 1952 by the John C. Winston Company. Philip Latham was the nom de plume of Robert S. Richardson, a professional astronomer who ...
''.

In his professional role he wrote about 10 books on astronomy. As Latham he wrote scripts for the early television series ''

Captain Video ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on the DuMont Television Network and was the first series of its genre on American television. The series aired between June 27, 1949, and Apri ...

'' as well as about 20 science-fiction stories.Latham, Philip
/ref> In one of these, ''N Day'', an astronomer named Philip Latham is freed from his reclusive life by the knowledge that the sun is about to go

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 dramati ...

Bibliography

* " N-Day", 1943 (as Philip Latham) * '' The Xi Effect'', 1950 (as Philip Latham) * ''

Five Against Venus ''Five Against Venus'', written by Philip Latham, is a science-fiction novel first published in the United States in 1952 by the John C. Winston Company. Philip Latham was the nom de plume of Robert S. Richardson, a professional astronomer who ...

'', 1952 (as Philip Latham) * ''

Missing Men of Saturn ''Missing Men of Saturn'' is a juvenile science fiction novel, published first in 1953, by astronomer and author Robert S. Richardson (as Philip Latham) with cover illustration by Alex Schomburg. The story concerns Dale Sutton's mission to the ...

'', 1953 (as Philip Latham) * '' Second Satellite'', 1956 * '' The Rose Bowl-Pluto Hypothesis published in

Orbit (anthology series) ''Orbit'' was a series of anthologies of new science fiction edited by Damon Knight, often featuring work by such writers as Gene Wolfe, Joanna Russ, R. A. Lafferty, and Kate Wilhelm. The anthologies tended toward the avant-garde edge of science fi ...

* ''The Fascinating World of Astronomy''

References

External links

* * * 1902 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American novelists American astronomers American male novelists American science fiction writers American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers {{US-astronomer-stub