Amateur Astronomy in Poland: Past and Present

Extract

Amateur astronomy in Poland has its own history dating from the 17th century to the present day. Before the 17th century, the term “amateur astronomer” loses its meaning. Otherwise we might pose the rather paradoxical question: “Was Copernicus an amateur?” and probably have to give the answer: “Yes, he was an amateur, being first a priest, a physician and a lawyer.” Let us leave him in peace and instead turn to more undoubted amateurs. The history can be divided into two general periods: before and after the creation of the Polish Amateur Astronomical Society, PA AS (Polskie Towarzystwo Milosników Astronomii – PTMA). Here we present 16 Polish amateur astronomers who contributed to astronomy from the 17th to the 20th centuries, except Jan Heweliusz – the greatest – who is discussed elsewhere (1). All are selected from a much larger group, the selection being made in accordance with the rules described in the very useful and practical “Criteria for identifying an astronomer as an amateur”, formulated by Tom Williams a few years ago and presented here (2). There is also a short history and current information about the PAAS. Finally, we summarize successes and failures of amateur astronomy in Poland and put some general questions about its future.