Mark at his Ancient Skies Observatory
It saddens me greatly to report that AAS has lost one of its beloved night sky watchers. Mark Johnston passed away Sunday around noon after a short illness. He was laid to rest in Liberty Hill cemetery on Thursday. At 60, he was taken from us far too soon. He will be sorely missed.
Mark joined AAS in 2002, about a year before I did. We sort of grew up together in the club. He was somewhat new to astronomy. I had been doing it since childhood but had not been active for many years. We just naturally gravitated to being observing buddies.
Mark was an enthusiastic participant in the Astronomical League observing programs. His awards included the programs for Messier, Double Star, Deep Sky Binocular, Binocular Messier, Binocular Double Star, Lunar, Caldwell Silver, Globular Cluster, Planetary Nebula Advanced, Carbon Star, Stellar Evolution, Outreach Stellar, and the Herschel 400. Mark received his Master Observer award from the Astronomical League in 2014. Mark’s favorite observing program was the double star program, but his most cherished AL certificate was for the Caldwell list. To complete his silver award, Mark corresponded several times with Sir Patrick Moore (CBE HonFRS) about his observations. Sir Patrick wrote a very encouraging note on Mark’s certificate shortly before his death in 2012. Mark treasured that certificate.
Mark was a connoisseur of fine equipment. He had a fondness for apochromatic refractors, and a weakness for top shelf eyepieces. He was a fanatic about maintaining and organizing his gear. His tenure as AAS equipment chair was cut short because no one could maintain apparatus to his high standards – he was driving everybody crazy. On many occasions, I took advantage of Mark’s tendencies by leaving my outreach abused eyepieces out where he could see them. It wasn’t long before he’d get so disgusted that he’d clean the whole lot. He derived many hours of pleasure just assembling scopes on mounts. He was always looking to put together the perfect rig. He would pester his friends with emails seeking opinions – Which finder would look best on top of the TEC 140? Watching him work on his rigs was not too different from watching a bonsai master trim a twig.
The man loved his double stars. I suppose that’s why he also preferred refractors. He delighted in point star images with the Airy disk and a single refraction disk, perfect for teasing out the duplicity of tight pairs. He also had an amazing memory for the binaries he’d observed. He could spend hours hopping from one obscure gem to another without having to look at a list or a chart.
Mark got in more observing hours than probably anyone I know. Even if observing conditions were marginal he would spend innumerable hours out in his zero-gravity chair going over the whole sky with binoculars. His man cave was his backyard observing gazebo that he called Ancient Skies and I liked to call Wood Henge. We spent many companionable nights out there listening to soft rock or new age while looking up.
Mark also liked to write about his observations. He wrote in a simple self-deprecating style that was appreciated by many club members who kept asking for “more reports Mark”. That is how he is probably remembered best by many AAS members who may not have met him in person. I think he liked to play up a bit on not being an “educated” man, but he certainly worked with, hobnobbed with, and earned the respect a lot of persons carrying advanced degrees.
Professionally, Mark was a surgical technician assisting in a wide range of difficult procedures. He could tell stories that would make your skin crawl, but he has had a hand is saving many lives. He was a great comfort to me visiting and reassuring me a couple of times when I had to go under the knife.
The love of Mark’s life is his wife Beth whom he never stopped referring to as the “best thing that ever happened to me.” All his friends would agree. She did so much to keep Mark on an even keel. We morn her loss. We are grateful for all the good times we had together, but it breaks our hearts to have to say of this intrepid watcher of the night skies, our self-styled StarMan that now his watch is ended.
Mark (right) with one of his mentors, John Huntsberger, who also passed away last year.
By Terry Phillips
