__NOTOC__ Norman Sperling (born March 19, 1947) is an author, editor, publisher, teacher, and

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

designer living in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. Sperling received a BA from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

after graduating from Montgomery Blair High School in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

. He followed that with an MA in History of Science from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He has taught

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and related courses at

Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Sonoma State offers 92 bachelor's degree programs, 19 master's de ...

California State University, Hayward California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post-baccala ...

, UC Berkeley, and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

Publisher and author

Sperling founded astronomical supplier and publisher Everything in the Universe in 1977. He has been assistant editor for

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly magazine covering all aspects of amateur and professional astronomy, including what to see in the sky tonight and new findings in astronomy. Other topics covered include: *observing guides for planets, ...

magazine and was science editor for

AltaVista AltaVista was a web search engine established in 1995. It became one of the most-used early search engines, but lost ground to Google and was purchased by Yahoo! in 2003, which retained the brand, but based all AltaVista searches on its own sear ...

. , Sperling is the editor and publisher of the Journal of Irreproducible Results, a science humor magazine. He authored ''What Your Astronomy Textbook Won't Tell You'' and ''Any Parent's Recipe for Great Baseball'' He edited and published John Dobson's book ''How and Why to Make a User-Friendly Sidewalk Telescope.'' He has also been published in

Academic American Encyclopedia ''Academic American Encyclopedia'' is a 21-volume general English language, English-language encyclopedia published in 1980. It was first produced by Arête Publishing, the American subsidiary of the Dutch publishing company Nielsen Company, VNU''K ...

Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first general encyclopedia of any magnitude to be published in North America. With '' Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...

online,

Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "''The''" in its name on April 23, 1998, under then pu ...

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, Pacific Discovery, Journal of College Science Teaching, Mercury, Rittenhouse, Popular Astronomy, Telescope Making, Griffith Observer, Reflector, and The Pundit. Sperling created the Catalog of North American Planetaria (CATNAP), which later expanded into the Planetarium Directory. He has been

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

director at Duncan Planetarium, Princeton Day School, New Jersey; Rotary-Chabot Planetarium, Chabot Observatory and Science Center, California; and Edgewood Junior High School Planetarium, Maryland, and he has been a lecturer at Morrison Planetarium in San Francisco.

Inventor

As an inventor, Sperling, with Mike Simmons, created the Astroscan telescope for Edmund Scientific, as well as "The Stars Above" star-finder for Spherical Concepts.

Expert witness

Sperling serves occasionally as an

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

in the field of astronomy. The most high-profile case in which he testified was known as the Billionaire Boys Club case in 1992. He was able to nullify the testimony of a key prosecution witness. The defendant was acquitted.

Volunteer service

Norman Sperling is a recipient of the National Service Award by the Western Amateur Astronomers, and had been recognized "For special and meritorious service for his unusual dedication and service to the astronomical community in all areas of astronomy" by the Astronomical Association of Northern California. He is a Fellow of the International Planetarium Society (first induction). Sperling is active in the Bay Area Skeptics, Northern California Historical Astronomy Luncheon and Discussion Association.

Notes

External links

Everything in the Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling, Norman American astronomers Michigan State University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Sonoma State University faculty Living people 1947 births California State University, East Bay faculty