Remembering Owen Brazell

Mark Armstrong Night Sky Managing Editor

It is with a heavy heart that I report the death of our colleague and friend Owen Brazell on 16 March. Tragically, he died in a road traffic accident on his way to Kelling Heath Spring Star Party. Long-term readers of Astronomy Now will be familiar with his deep-sky challenge column, which he penned for us for the past 20 years, communicating his vast pool of knowledge in all things deep sky as one of the UK’s leading deep-sky visual observers.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Owen was a regular attendee at many star parties and camps around the world, where he gave generously of his observing time at his large Dobsonian and, under cloudy skies no doubt led many conversations, and dare I say arguments. Owen was one of astronomy’s great characters, with a quick and acerbic wit that he wasn’t shy of deploying!

Just after I was introduced at Newbury Astronomical Society for a talk I gave in the late 1990s on my supernova work, Owen piped up from the back, “we tried to get Aoki (the leading amateur supernova discover at the time), but he couldn’t make it”! Owen was very supportive of my supernova search and of the ‘CCD revolution’ in general.

Owen’s death brings back my memories of Neil Bone, another much missed friend and contributor to the magazine who died in 2009. Like Neil, Owen did a bit of everything, echoing their deep affection for our hobby. Owen was president of the Webb Society, editor of their Deep-Sky Observer and a past assistant director of the BAA’s Deep Sky Section. He was also Chairman of Abingdon Astronomical Society and a familiar face to many societies.

Owen is irreplaceable and his passing is a great loss to the world-wide astronomy community. All of us at Astronomy Now pass on our deepest condolences.

Mark Armstrong Night Sky Managing Editor

My own condolences to Owen’s family and friends. He and I chatted very recently at Practical Astronomy Show; a lovely soul. Thankfully, I do have some good news: this issue marks the beginning of a collaboration with one of the UK’s most august astronomical organisations. The British Astronomical Association (BAA) will now be presenting our monthly Moonwatch column (page 54). Formed in 1890 to support observational astronomers, the organisation today continues to support amateurs in their pursuit of making scientifically valuable observations, often in collaboration with their professional colleagues. Visit them online: britastro.org

Stuart Clark Editor