MHC's Ronald E. Zissell, Astronomer Extraordinaire

ZISSELL-3 1Ron Zissell at work in the MHC observatory.

By Katie Peek '02
 
s you walk across campus late at night, most of the buildings are dark. But if you walk past the observatory, it's likely that the lights will be on and the dome open. Sitting behind the telescope is Ron Zissell, lab director of the MHC observatory. Zissell is so dedicated to astronomy that he is there almost every clear night, making observations. He was recently honored by the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) for his lifetime dedication to the science.
Zissell has been interested in astronomy since he was very small. When he was young, his father built a small telescope that Zissell says "did not look like a telescope at all." Through this homemade scope, the Zissell family viewed the stars, comets, and planets. These observations made quite an impression on young Zissell, who soon built a larger telescope himself. He wanted to use his project to view a transit of Mercury (when the planet crosses in front of the sun), but his parents would not let him stay home from school. Zissell recalls jumping off the school bus and running to set up the telescope, barely catching the end of the event.
Inspired by his backyard observations, Zissell attended Lehigh University and received a B.A. in physics, then worked as a research assistant for four years at Yale University's observatory. He next earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. Zissell recalls a 1970 solar eclipse while he was in graduate school, saying that the astronomy department canceled classes that day. Jobs were hard to come by when Zissell received his Ph.D. in 1973, and he worked in industry for a few years before coming to work as the Five College astronomy technician in 1975. Although his position has changed to Mount Holyoke lab director, Zissell has been doing astronomy in the valley ever since. A member of AAVSO, Zissell spends most clear nights at Mount Holyoke's telescopes, making observations of variable stars.
The school's larger telescope, a 24-inch refractor, was an "economical" purchase in 1972. Zissell has been improving the instrument ever since, keeping it updated with the latest technology. He has used the telescope to make more than 10,000 observations of variable stars and has logged more than 10,000 visual (without a computer) observations, as well. Zissell has also contributed observations to the planning of space shuttle missions.
At a time when larger observatories are outshining small college ones, Zissell has helped keep Mount Holyoke on the map. Thanks to him, the observatory has a reputation as an active scientific center. A few months ago, he rang in the year 2000 at the telescope. Such incredible dedication earned him the Director's Award at the AAVSO's annual meeting in Huntsville, Alabama. The award is granted for dedicated and outstanding service to the organization, which includes doing chart work (updating maps of the star fields) in addition to his thousands of observations.
Says astronomy professor Tom Dennis, "Ron's service to Mount Holyoke also deserves a prize. He can do and does everything optical, electronic and mechanical required to keep our facility up and running and also au courant. He is an assiduous and careful observer who is also very generous and patient in passing on his knowledge and skill. Williston Observatory has its feet planted in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, and it's Ron who has both the historic sense and technical skills to make it all stand up."
AAVSO has a long history at Mount Holyoke. Professor Anne S. Young, observatory director from 1899 to 1936, and Louise Jenkins '11 were two of the organization's founding members. AAVSO consists of both professional and amateur astronomers who make observations of variables: stars that vary in brightness from hour to hour or night to night. The data are compiled into one large catalog, which has proved indispensable to professional astronomers, who love having data going back to the turn of the century on a given star.
A night owl (a required attribute of observational astronomers), Zissell is often at the telescope "until dawn, or until the clouds come in, whichever happens first." After a few hours of sleep in the morning, Zissell is back at the observatory in the afternoon and evening, analyzing his data and helping with the Astronomy 101 labs. When he is not observing, Zissell is "waiting for the sky to clear." While the clouds cover the stars, Zissell (an Eagle Scout himself) helps lead South Hadley's Boy Scout troop #301, pores over his impressively large collection of penguin paraphernalia, and practices his bagpipes, which are often heard echoing across campus. He also keeps the Mary Lyon clock tower in working order, his clock knowledge being almost entirely self-taught.
Zissell loves to know how things work, and loves even more to share his knowledge with students. Astronomy 101 class and teaching assistants are devoted to Zissell, who has been known to turn the answer to one question into an hour-long discussion on an entirely unrelated topic. Zissell has been a valuable asset to Mount Holyoke College for twenty-five years. So, the next time you hear bagpipes echoing across the green, you'll know something about the amazing man behind them.

 

Photograph by Nancy Palmieri

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