Stephen James O'Meara
Stephen James O’Meara, an award-winning visual observer, has been honored by the International Astronomical Union by having asteroid 3637 O’Meara named after him. The Texas Star Party gave him its prestigious Lone Stargazer Award (2001) and the Omega Centauri Award (1994) for “his efforts in advancing astronomy through observation, writing, and promotion, and for sharing his love of the sky.” He has also been awarded with the Caroline Herschel Award for his pre-Voyager visual discovery of the spokes in Saturn’s B-ring and for being the first to determine visually the rotation period of Uranus. His remarkable skills continually reset the standard of quality for other visual observers. Steve was the first to sight Halley’s Comet on its return in 1985, which was featured in the December 1986 issue of National Geographic magazine. In 2001 The National Geographic Expeditions Council awarded Steve and his wife Donna with a research grant to pursue their studies of volcanic eruptions. Other grant recipients include Bob Ballard and Jane Goodall. The O’Mearas’ life story has recently been made into a National Geographic Explorer Movie that won the Best of 2001. A more intimate look at the lives and adventures of Steve and Donna appears in their latest National Geographic film: “Inside Base Camp,” produced live in the studios at National Geographic in Washington, D.C. Steve is a contributing editor for Sky & Telescope magazine, for whom he has worked for the last quarter century. He is also a contributing editor and consultant for Odyssey—a children’s science magazine. Steve is the author of five books; his latest, The Caldwell Objects, is the second part of his popular Deep-Sky Companions series.