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Hidden Hollow
2007
 
Brent Archinal
Brent Archinal is a native Ohioan, an active amateur astronomer, and a long time member of the Richland Astronomical Society. While attending Ohio State during the latter 1970's and early '80's, his interest in observational and amateur astronomy grew. During this same period he also became quite active in various astronomy clubs. He has served at various times in several official capacities, including as President, of the OSU Astronomy Club and the Columbus Astronomical Society, and he is currently a member of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, and the Coconino Astronomical Society.
He has long advocated that visual observers “push the envelope” of what is thought possible. After becoming one of the first to publicize the “Messier Marathon” during the early 1980’s, in 2001 at the All Arizona Messier Marathon he become the first person to observe all 110 Messier objects in a single night using binoculars. He made the first documented (and second known) naked eye observation of M 81 in 1995, the farthest object visible to the unaided human eye. In 1987, along with Bob Bunge, and using the 31-inch Rupp reflector, he made the first known visual telescopic observation of a gravitational lens, the double quasar in Ursa Major.
He has also long been interested and involved in the proper identification of deep sky objects, particularly star clusters. An outgrowth of this work was the publication of the Webb Society Monograph No. 1, “The Non-existent Star Clusters of the RNGC” in 1993, and with co-author Steven Hynes, publication by Willmann-Bell, Inc., of the book “Star Clusters” in 2003. In recognition of this research, in 2000 the International Astronomical Union named the asteroid no. 11941 “Archinal”.
Professionally, Brent received his PhD from the Ohio State Department of Geodetic Science and Surveying in 1987. For 13 years he was employed as an Astronomer at the U. S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D. C. His work there centered on performing research into methods for more accurately determining the Earth's orientation and improving the coordinate systems of the Earth and sky. Since 2000 Brent has been working as a Geodesist with the Astrogeology Team of the U. S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, AZ. His research centers on generally improving the coordinate systems for the other bodies of the solar system so that they can be accurately mapped. He has already revised the coordinate systems for Io and Mars and worked on high resolution mapping of the Mars Exploration Rover landing and other sites on Mars. He is currently completing work on a new coordinate system for the Moon, and the first global model of the Moon’s topography. He is Vice-Chair of the IAU/IAG Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates, a Mars Exploration Rover Athena Science Team Collaborator, and a member of the Huygens DISR Science Team and has done work on the SMART 1 project.
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