John T. Hopf (1920-2011)
October 2011 :
John Hopf is shown here with his 6-inch Newtonian telescope, circa 1960.
John was an "Amateur Astronomer" in the truest sense - he made telescopes and used them to their fullest extent.
John built this telescope and made the mirror for it. The mirror was made so well that he won a Stellafane prize for excellence in optics.
His favorite objects to observe were the planets, especially Mars, but he didn't just observe, he also sketched and photographed the planets and bright comets.
Although John was well known as a professional photographer of the highest possible standards, sometimes his professional cameras would not fit on his telescopes, so he would make a camera box and film holder to mount on the telescope to fit his needs. His professional commercial and aerial photographs were frequently published in newspapers, books and journals. His astrophotography was also well known and many of his photographs appeared in the Newport newspaper and in one of the first books ever published for amateur astrophotographers - "Outer Space Photography for the Amateur" by Henry Paul in 1960. He not only did these things for himself, but he would also readily share his knowledge and skills to help others build telescopes, take astrophotographs and develop their knowledge and expertise in amateur astronomy.
Skyscrapers has benefited greatly from having John associated with the Society, almost from the beginning when Skyscrapers was founded in 1932. John's father took him to one of the first meetings at Brown University in 1932/33 when he was about twelve or thirteen years old. He was not old enough to become a member, but he attended meetings whenever he could, eventually becoming a member and contributing to the Society for well over half a century. More recently in the mid-1990s, John was responsible for Skyscrapers acquiring a 12" Meade telescope instead of the originally intended smaller model. Among the many contributions to Skyscrapers, he generously donated the majority of the funds to pay for the upgrade to the 12" model. The Meade 12" has been a heavily used instrument by our members, education outreach star parties and the Saturday night public observing program.
John T. Hopf has earned his rest and we will all miss him. He has always known that "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God".
Rest in Peace, John.
