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Re: (meteorobs) Light Pollution

In a message dated 4/9/99 4:16:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
rmn@aaocbn.aaodot gov.au writes:

<< Again, I'm not saying Seltzer was in any
 way cheating, or that he actually *had* pre-existing knowledge of the
 positions of the satellites of Jupiter, but such knowledge certainly does
 influence the results. >>

It is interesting that Rob brought this point up.  I too used to think that 
Allen had advanced knowledge of where Jupiter's moons were located on a given 
night.  Knowing Allen for quite a number of years however, I now think he was 
quite honest and actually had extremely acute vision.  You really have to 
know Allen to understand him.  For example, regarding the newspaper thing . . 
. Allen had zero knowledge of sports.  One of the things I had him read from 
The New York Times at the 20+ foot distance was a story regarding a New York 
Met game.  There were baseball terms within the story such as "fielders 
choice," "double play," "10 K's in six innings of work," all of which would 
have meant nothing to him, yet he read the story with no problem whatsoever.

Allen also has an unusual blood metabolism to a degree where he felt rather 
uncomfortable at normal temperatures; when it is in the 80's (F.) he wears a 
sweater.  When he worked at the Hayden Planetarium, his office was always 
kept at around 85 degrees F.  There is a photo kicking around somewhere of 
Allen at the Indonesian solar eclipse of 1983, where the temperatures and 
dewpoints were uncomfortably high -- yet he was standing around in a dark 
colored, lined-raincoat!  Once, I was at a restaurant with him.  When the 
waiter brought over the food, he warned:  don't touch the trays, they are 
very hot!  To which Allen nonchalantly picked up a tray and looked at the 
waiter and said as a matter-a-factly, "Where can I put this?"  The waiter 
almost died of shock!

Conversely. . . he cannot tolerate cold weather.  At the 1979 solar eclipse, 
Allen accompanied me to the National Weather Service office at Great Falls, 
Montana.  The meteorologist-in-charge offered us a ride back to our hotel.  
We had to stand outside for a minute or so, as he unpluged his car-heater (it 
was -15F).  Although he was bundled up like an eskimo, Allen looked like he 
was going to collapse right there on the curb because of the extreme cold.  
Quite an unusual guy!

-- joe          
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