Photo : Click HereJack Foley
A. Horkheimer
Creator/Writer/Host : "Star Hustler/Star Gazer"
Executive Director : Miami Space Transit Planetarium
Miami, Florida USA
Jack Foley Horkheimer, Executive Director of the Miami Space
Transit Planetarium at the Miami Science Museum for over 35 years
is an internationally recognized pioneer in popularizing naked-eye
astronomy. He revolutionized planetarium presentations and his
"Child Of The Universe", which his peers have dubbed
a "classic" celebrated its 35th anniversary in April
2007. He is best known as the creator/writer/host of public television's
"Star Hustler/Star Gazer", the 30 year long running
weekly TV series on naked eye astronomy. Seen on PBS stations
nationwide, "Star Gazer" reaches millions more via cable
and is also seen worldwide via WORLDNET - the official television
network of the United States Information Agency. Horkheimer appears
frequently on South Florida and major national TV and Radio Networks
and has narrated several solar eclipses for CNN. He has made frequent
appearances on national talk shows, from Charlie Rose to Larry
King, Sally Jessy Raphael to Geraldo. In his passion to bring
astronomy to the public he has led several solar eclipse expeditions
and co-organized the first supersonic Halley's Comet Chase aboard
4 Concordes.
Horkheimer, who gives his age as somewhere between post-puberty
and pre-senility, says he especially enjoys his cartoon alter-ego
in the monthly "Star Gazing With Jack Horkheimer" comic
strip in Odyssey Magazine. In Nov. 2006 several years of cartoon
strips were released in hard cover book format.
He was absurdly delighted to be the summer weekend host on Time/Warner's
Cartoon Network, introducing such intellectual celebrities as
"Johnny Bravo", "Cow and Chicken", "The
Power Puff Girls", "Ed, Edd and Eddie" and "I.
M. Weasel".
Recognized by his TV sign-off "Keep Looking Up", Horkheimer
revealed that although he intends to be stargazing well into the
third millennium, nevertheless he has already erected his own
tombstone with the following epitaph:
"Keep Looking Up was my life's admonition,
I can do little else in my present position."
Until then he remains vertical.
Recent Awards:
'Asteroid 1999 FD9' was renamed 'Asteroid Horkheimer' by the International
Astronomical Union, Cambridge, Mass. in recognition of his lifelong
contributions to popularizing astronomy. ('Asteroid Horkheimer'
orbits between the planets Mars and Jupiter and Horkheimer suspects
that it has "Earth Or Bust" etched across its surface.)
United States House of Representatives Congressional Record Outstanding
Contributions Award.
Honorary Doctorate Degree by the International Fine Arts College.
Outstanding Achievement Award from the Astronomical League Past
recipients include Carl Sagan, Edwin Hubble (Hubble Space Telescope)
, Clyde Tombaugh (discoverer of Planet ? Pluto).
Recipient of the Klumpke-Roberts Award for 2000 from the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific for popularizing astronomy.
City of Miami - Silver Medallion Award.
Recipient of the 12 Good Men Award by Ronald McDonald House.
Miscellaneous Stuff:
Founding Member of the International Planetarium Society. Founding
co-editor of "The Planetarian" and past editor of "Southern
Skies".
Mr. Horkheimer has set up and funded annual scholarship awards
for young astronomers in cooperation with the Astronomical League.
He has also assisted colleagues in the placement of a telescope
on board the International Space Station.
"Star Hustler/Star Gazer" celebrated its 30th anniversary
Nov. 4, 2006 with over 1500 weekly episodes taped to date. Weekly
episodes of "Star Gazer" can be downloaded over the
internet at www.jackstargazer.com. The "Star Gazer"
website is a Key Resource Award winner and is visited by over
100 countries a month. Mr. Horkheimer has produced several home
videos on naked-eye astronomy with WPBT-TV 2 , Miami, Florida,
the proceeds of which go entirely to the production of "Star
Gazer".
"Star Gazer" is recognized by its peers as " The
world's first TV and Cyber-Planetarium" and is the largest
outreach program of any Science Museum / Planetarium in history.
More people learn about naked-eye astronomy via "Star Gazer"
in one week than the combined weekly attendance of all planetariums
worldwide.
KEEP LOOKING UP!
QUESTION: Why does Jack Horkheimer always say "Keep Looking
Up"?
ANSWER : Have you ever tried star gazing looking down?
