Bob Moler has been interested in astronomy and space since he can remember, going back to the late 1940s and early 50s. He learned the constellations and saw his brightest meteors on his winter morning paper route while in the 8th grade. He joined the junior section of the Grand Rapids Amateur Astronomical Association. When the Grand Rapids Public Museum built a planetarium, he and two other friends found themselves involved with it and actually made modifications to the projector. After a stint in the Air Force he came back and worked part-time at the then named Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, named in honor of the hometown astronaut who lost his life in the Apollo 1 fire.|He served as a part-time guest lecturer until 1971 when his job took him to Traverse City, Michigan. In 1974, he started to produce programs on astronomy at the local public radio station and has been regularly producing those programs ever since, 38 years and counting. Around 1980 he became an adjunct professor of astronomy at Northwestern Michigan College and served for five years. When the college finished their observatory, Bob and a few others started an astronomy club to operate the telescopes for the public viewing nights. Thus, the Grand Traverse Astronomical Society (GTAS) was formed in 1982. Bob served as the first president and continues as newsletter editor currently. Since 1975, he has also had an association with the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, Michigan and their Lanphier Observatory. |