WHO WAS CHARLES F.
("CHICK") CAPEN, JR.? WHO WAS CHARLES F.
("CHICK") CAPEN, JR.?
Charles F. Capen
(1926-1986) was an internationally known scientist and
lecturer. Members of the Association of Lunar especially knew
him and Planetary Observers (ALPO), he was one of the few
professional astronomers who contributed to the organization
and served as Mars Section Recorder for 17 years. Chick, as we
all knew Charles Capen, was a pioneer in the study of the Solar
System. He helped to establish or construct four major
astronomical observatories and was responsible for planning
their observational programs and training their personnel.
Capen was well known for his vast collection of scientific
literature, especially astronomical books and papers.
He was born at Gilman, Illinois on January 1, 1926. During high
school, he began to study the Red Planet Mars with a port-able
telescope. After high school, Capen went on to earn two
diplomas from Spartan College of Aeronautics in 1945-1949 and
was a tactical squadron flight instructor with the Army Air
Force during the Korean War. He later gave up his love of
aviation for astronomy and acquired five years of geophysical
and astrophysical education from New Mexico State University,
University of Illinois, and Indiana University.
Capen learned the fine art of planetary observing and
scientific research under the guidance of Dr. Clyde Tombaugh,
discoverer of the planet Pluto, at New Mexico State and the
late Dr. Earl C. Slipher, world renown authority on Mars, at
Lowell Observatory. A few of his professional accomplishments
over the years include the photographic patrols for possible
small satellites of the Earth, site testing for the U.S. Air
Force facility near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, and the Director of
the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Station at Shiraz,
Iran in 1957-1960.
In 1962 Capen was appointed Resident Astronomer of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory’s Table Mountain Observatory in
Southern California where his research helped to support the
Mariner space missions to Mars, and as advisor to the Viking
space missions to Mars. From 1969 through 1983 he was employed
at the Lowell Observatory’s Planetary Research Center at
Flagstaff, Arizona. He retired from his formal astronomical
observatory duties in 1983, moving to Cuba, Missouri to
complete his life long work on Mars and comets.
Charles Capen
received numerous awards for his achievements, including the
Space Science Division Award by the California Institute of
Technology - Jet Propulsion Laboratory for his outstanding
services during the Mariner IV, VI, and VII space missions as a
Mars Team Member, the Institute of Environmental Sciences Award
of the Year (1969), the Dr. G. Bruce Blair Gold Medal for
outstanding contributions to astronomy (1960), and the
Institute of Navigation Award for contributions to astronautics
and the conquest of space (1984). In 1969 Thomas Paine,
Director of NASA, presented Chick with the Apollo Achievement
Award in Washington D.C., in appreciation of his dedicated
service to the nation as a member of the Apollo Team whose work
resulted in Man’s first landing on the Moon. In 1985 Chick
was the first recipient of the A.L.P.O. Walter H. Haas Award
for his outstanding observational work that has increased our
understanding of the planet Mars.
Charles F. Capen was well known for his early work with color
filters, psychophysical observational studies, colorimetry of
the planets, and a pioneer in color astrophotography since
1954. Examples of his innumerable astronomical and nature
photographs and science texts are found in prime TV specials,
magazines, encyclopedias, and astronomical books and journals
of many nations. He published over 150 research papers dealing
with astronomy and geophysics, 100 popular natural science
articles, and three books.
For more than 26 years he lectured at universities, public
schools, and astronomical societies around the world. For
several years he had the honor of being an Alexander F.
Morrison Science Lecturer while at California Institute of
Technology-JPL. In 1983, Capen presented results of his
research to the august body of the General Assembly of the
International Astronomical Union meeting in Greece.
C.F. Capen biographical sketches can be found in Marquis
"Who’s Who, Frontier Science & Technology,
American Biographical Institute, Community Leaders and
Noteworthy Americans," and "Personalities of the West
and Midwest." Capen was a member of the International
Astronomical Union, American Astronomical Society (AAS),
American Geophysical Union, Division of Planetary Sciences of
the AAS and Director of Mars Section of the Association of
Lunar and Planetary Observers.
At the time of his death, Chick Capen was completing his work
as co-author of the well-known book, Introduction to Observing
and Photographing the Solar System, co-authored by Thomas A.
Dobbins and Donald C. Parker. Soon after Capen passed away,
Jeff Beish completed the book Mars Observer’s Handbook they
had worked on for several years and was published by the
Planetary Society and is not in second printing by the
Astronomical League.
The Charles F. Capen Memorial Library and Achieves consists of
500 miscellaneous planetary and astronomical books, 210 rare
and technical Mars books, 10,000 photographs of the Solar
System taken by himself, his wife Virginia Watkins Capen, and
many of the world’s leading planetary astrophotographers.
The library also contains many of the books and papers authored
by him along with much of the memorabilia that covered his
50-year astronomical career. Besides the publications mentioned
above, the library contains thousands of scientific papers and
articles covering several hundred years of telescopic
observation of the Solar System.
After a four-year search for an appropriate location for this
prized collection, we elected in January 1990 to sell it to the
Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville, South Carolina.
The dedication for the library took place on May 12, 1990,
adja-cent to the 7th largest refracting telescope in the United
States, indeed a most appropriate location for Chick
Capen’s library. After all, he spent 26 years observing
with Lowell Observatory’s 24-inch Clark refractor.
The library is housed within the Center’s 170-seat 50-foot
planetarium. Doug Gegen, Director of the Charles E. Daniel
Observatory, and the co-author presented several papers before
the dedication. Virginia Capen and her two sons, Rigel Capen
and Regulas Capen performed the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Roper Mountain Science Center is operated by
the School District of Greenville County, South Carolina and is
one of the finest astronomy teaching facilities in the country.
Besides the new 50-foot Digistar planetarium, the Science
Center features the historic 23-inch Alvan Clark refractor,
formerly at Princeton University. This instrument is the sister
telescope of the Lowell Observatory’s 24-inch Clark located
on Mars Hill in Flagstaff, Arizona where Capen spent many years
on the observatory’s staff.
Conceived in the late 1970’s as a state of the art teaching
facility the Science Center provides instruction in all the
sciences for students and teachers. One of the very few centers
in the country of its kind. Located on its 62 acres is the
45-foot dome that houses the Charles F. Daniel
Observatory’s 23-inch Alvan Clark refractor. The center
includes the Symmes Hall of Science featuring many scientific
exhibits, study halls, physics and chemistry laboratory,
optical and astronomical instrumentation shop, and a 300-seat
auditorium. Also, a two- thousand-seat amphitheater provides a
venue for music and theater throughout the year while concerts
are given in the warm summer months.
New to the Center is a major planetarium. The T.C. Hooper
Planetarium Sciencesphere features a Digistar projection system
that is based on computer generated video images provided by a
$60,000 fisheye lens and a Digital Corp. MicroVax computer
sys-tem. The planetarium seats 170 and features one of the most
modern and up-to-date sound and video systems in the world.
As Curator of Astronomy at the Center, author Doug Gegen,
encourages both amateur and professional members of ALPO and
the Astronomical League to visit the observatory to examine any
of the materials in the Capen Library and Archives and to use
the 23-inch refractor for lunar and planetary studies. Also
avail-able is the Mogey 6-inch refractor that is equipped with
white light and H-alpha solar filters and several Newtonians
from 8 to 12.5 inches in aperture.
The 23-inch refractor was completed in 1882 for Princeton
University and was the main instrument in their Halsted
Observa-tory. The well-known astronomers Harlow Shapely, Henry
Norris Russell, and Charles Young used it. In 1933, the
telescope was entirely rebuilt by J.W. Fecker Company that
provided a much heavier mount and new tube assembly. The lens
was "figured" by Alvan Clark and his sons that has
provided many excellent ob-serving sessions and some of the
best views of Mars for the authors also the internationally
known astrophotographer Donald C. Parker. For more information
see Gegen’s excellent article in Sky and Telescope
Magazine, May 1988 or write to: Doug Gegen, Roper Mountain
Science Center, 1101 Roper Mountain Road, Apt. 390, Greenville,
SC 29615 or phone: (803) 297-0232.
It is hoped that serious amateur planetary astronomers and
professionals will take advantage of the resources at the
Science Center. There are accommodations close by, and class
schedules normally allow for late night telescope use. In
exchange for telescope time you would be asked to contribute
your time and efforts to present a talk with the students or
interested public on the work that you are doing. Not a bad
price for using a 23- inch.
