About Me

I have been interested in astronomy for most of my life. In college I took a couple of astronomy courses (Intro to Astronomy and Galactic Structure Seminar) but I found them to be boring as I had read a lot of astronomy books on my own. Back then, in the 1970's, it really wasn't difficult to be fairly well versed in astronomy through self-study methods. Well, things have certainly changed over the past 30 years! Astronomy has gotten quite complicated and I will admit that I have not stayed in touch with it. However, the history of astronomy, particularly the history of constellations, has evolved at a much slower pace - and seldom requires advanced math or physics!

I started my constellation studies in the early 1970's and kept up with it, on and off, over the years. Deborah Warner's book, "The Sky Explored. Celestial Cartography 1500-1800" (published in 1979), was an eye opener and exploded many accepted ideas about the authors of the modern constellations. After reading "The Sky Explored" there was a lull in my constellation studies because I was very busy getting a physical therapy degree. A few years passed and then I got in touch with Warner (the age of email had arrived!) and she led me to some Dutch researchers. After that my own research sped up and I chose to focus on the modern constellations. There were, and still are, many books and websites which contain antiquated information about the modern constellations - but fortunately they are getting fewer in number. However, you will find that "Filling the Sky" website and my "Filling the Sky" book, contain some of the most up-to-date information available!

My free time is spent hiking, puttering with my website, or star-gazing. Just recently I was treated to a spectacular view of Comet McNaught for the 15 minutes it was visible between twilight and comet set. I live in the state of Colorado, USA (latitude about 39 degrees north) and I sometimes wish I had a better view of the modern constellations, so many of which are in the southern sky. But then I think of the people I have met from the southern hemisphere who wished they had a better view of the circumpolar classical constellations! It is a treat to see all the constellations but the important thing is to just keep looking up from wherever you are and enjoy the view!

Clear Skies,
Jim Fuchs

P.S. Some of my hiking photos can be found here.

P.S.S. The portrait was done by Carolyn Blake.