John Dobson (amateur astronomer)

Dobson died while in Providence / Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California on January 15, 2014. He was 98.

In 2005, the Smithsonian magazine listed Dobson as among 35 individuals who have made a major difference during the lifetime of that periodical.

Dobson's life and ideas are the subject of the 2005 documentary A Sidewalk Astronomer. He was also featured in the PBS series The Astronomers, and appeared twice on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Dobson also appears as one of the speakers in Universe: The Cosmology Quest, a documentary about non-standard cosmological theories.

In 2004, the Crater Lake Institute presented Dobson with its Annual Award for Excellence in Public Service for pioneering sidewalk astronomy in the national parks and forests, “where curious minds and dark skies collide”.

A 1991 book by Dobson & Sperling on telescope-making helped popularize what came to be known as the Dobsonian mount, and treats the why as being as important as the how. It covers Dobson's background and his philosophy on astronomy and the universe, and his belief in the importance of popular access to astronomy for proper appreciation of the universe. Dobson has also published two books on cosmology.

Unexpectedly, the Sidewalk Astronomers were invited to the 1969 Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (Riverside County, California). The 24-inch (610 mm) Dobsonian telescope brought by the Sidewalk Astronomers was unconventional, because most telescopes at such meetings tended to be smaller, on equatorial mounts, and designed for astrophotography rather than optical viewing. Surprisingly (and controversially at the time) Dobson's telescope tied in first prize for best optics. It was also awarded the runner up prize for mechanics, despite the mechanics of the telescope and its mount being exceptionally simple.

Eventually Dobson was given the option of ceasing his telescope building or leaving the order. He chose to stop building telescopes so that he could remain at the monastery. But one day another monk wrongly accused him as missing and reported him to the head swami. Dobson was expelled in 1967. However, he maintains that the accusation was not the true reason for his expulsion. The true reason, he contends, was a result of a misunderstanding. The head swami read a paper that was presumed written by Dobson, that contradicted the reconciliation of science with Vedanta, and the swami thought Dobson had rejected the swami's teaching.

Having left the order in 1967, Dobson in 1968 co-founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers, an amateur astronomy organization that aims to popularize astronomy among people on the street, along with Bruce Sams and Jeffery Roloff. Sams had built a large telescope but because at the time he was only age 12, he was not eligible for membership in the only local club – the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers – thus the “San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers” was founded. It was also at this time that Dobson's simple form of telescope – which came to be known as the Dobsonian – became well known after he started teaching classes to the public on how to make your own telescope.

In 1944 he attended a lecture by a Vedantan swami. Dobson said the swami “revealed to him a world he had never seen.” That same year Dobson joined the Vedanta Society monastery in San Francisco, becoming a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. “One of John's responsibilities at the monastery was to reconcile astronomy with the teachings of Vedanta. That job led him to build telescopes on the side. He took to wheeling them around outside the monastery, fascinating the neighbors who would congregate around him.”

Over time Dobson became interested in the universe and its workings. He earned a masters degree in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1943, working in E. O. Lawrence's lab.

Dobson was born in Beijing, China. His maternal grandfather was the missionary Hiram Harrison Lowry, his mother was a musician, and his father taught zoology at a university. He and his parents moved to San Francisco, California in 1927. His father accepted a teaching position at Lowell High School and taught there until the 1950s. Dobson spent 23 years in a monastery, after which he became more active in promoting astronomy.

John Lowry Dobson (14 September 1915 – 15 January 2014) was an American amateur astronomer and is best known for the Dobsonian telescope, a portable, low-cost Newtonian reflector telescope. He was also known for his efforts to promote awareness of astronomy (and his unorthodox views of physical cosmology) through public lectures including his performances of "sidewalk astronomy". Dobson was also the co-founder of the amateur astronomical group, the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.