Kenneth Linn Franklin (March 25, 1923 – June 18, 2007) was an American

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

and educator. Franklin was the chief scientist at the

Hayden Planetarium The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the no ...

from 1956 to 1984 and was co-credited with discovering

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

waves originating on

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousand ...

, the first detection of signals from another planet.Kenneth L. Franklin, Ph.D.
at the

Carnegie Institution of Washington The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism web site. Kenneth Franklin, Astronomer, Dies at 84
— Obituary from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' by Douglas Martin, June 21, 2007. He was often a local and national media figure including during

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

, the first human mission to the

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, when Franklin was an on-camera astronomy expert for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Early life and discovery

Franklin was born in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

to Myles Arthur and Ruth Linn (Houston) Franklin. He received an A.A. degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

in 1944 and

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

in 1948.Kenneth L. Franklin
— Obituary from the

Times Online ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

, June 28, 2007. He married Beverly Mattson on November 29, 1949. He earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from Berkeley in 1953 and a research

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

ship at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the

from 1954 to 1956. In 1955, Franklin and Dr. Bernard F. Burke were scanning for space signals when they heard a hissing noise. Originally thinking the noise was a passing vehicle's spark plug, they soon traced it to Jupiter, the first noise ever traced to a specific planet. They presented their findings to the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

on April 6, 1955. In March 1956, Franklin's wife, with whom he had two daughters, died. Franklin began working at the Hayden Planetarium the same year. On May 18, 1958, he married Charlotte Walton, who worked at Carnagie in the terrestrial magnetism dept., and later legally adopted a daughter from her previous marriage. He also specialized in solar eclipses.

Career

After the notable discovery of 1955, Franklin was frequently invited as an astronomical expert on television and radio. He appeared on a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for ...

special in 1957, appeared on CBS for the landing of

Surveyor 1 Surveyor 1 was the first lunar soft-lander in the uncrewed Surveyor program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, United States). This lunar soft-lander gathered data about the lunar surface that would be needed for the cr ...

in 1966, and was on NBC for

Apollo 8 Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth. The ...

Apollo 10 Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...

, and

in 1968 and 1969. He became the astronomy

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

for the

World Almanac ''The World Almanac and Book of Facts'' is a US-published reference work, an almanac conveying information about such subjects as world changes, tragedies, and sports feats. It has been published yearly from 1868 to 1875, and again every year sinc ...

from 1968 to 1996 and was on the editorial panel of

Science Digest ''Science Digest'' was a monthly American magazine published by the Hearst Corporation from 1937 through 1988. History ''Science Digest'' was first published in January 1937 in an 8 x 5 inch digest size format of about 100 pages. ...

from 1970 to 1985. From 1973 to 1979, Franklin was the Public Affairs Officer for the American Astronomical Society. He taught at several universities and colleges on the American east coast including

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...

, and

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...

. He also lectured at

Columbia School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sc ...

and the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

for three and a half years. Franklin was part of a visiting lecturer program and in 1973 and 1980, he led tours to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to observe

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...

s. Franklin contributed almanac information including the time of

sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

to ''

'' from 1975 to 1997. He also contributed all of the astronomical calculations for the

Farmers' Almanac ''Farmers' Almanac'' is an annual American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by Geiger of Lewiston, Maine, the ''Farmers' Almanac'' provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. The ...

from 1980 to 1992. These were in addition to his regular duties presenting popular planetarium shows from 1956 to 1984 and producing his own radio program. An

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell in 1981 was named 2845 Franklinken in Franklin's honor. Franklin lived in

Loveland, Colorado The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous cit ...

until his death in

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

from heart surgery complications. He was survived by his wife, three daughters, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the

Trap Door Spiders The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the trapdo ...

, which served as the basis of

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's fictional group of mystery solvers the

Black Widowers The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories that he started writing in 1971. Most of the stories were first published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', though a few ...

. He was a lifelong friend of Asimov's, & they took several ocean solar eclipse cruises together. After he retired, he & his wife, Charlotte, whom he met at Carnegie where she also worked, traveled the Americas via Airstream.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Kenneth 1923 births 2007 deaths People from Alameda, California 20th-century American astronomers Planetary scientists Cooper Union faculty