LOWELL OBSERVATORY // FLAGSTAFF, AZ
DATE: JUNE 16, 1966
"Come with me now, Pilgrim of the stars, for our time is upon us and our eyes shall see the far country and the shining cities of Infinity."
This is the legacy of Robert Burnham Jr. — the man who mapped the universe from a typewriter, discovered six comets, and gave us the Celestial Handbook before fading into the dark.
Working alone in a cabin at Lowell Observatory, Burnham spent decades compiling the Celestial Handbook. It remains the most comprehensive guide to the night sky ever written by a single person.
Burnham spent thousands of hours staring at glass plates, flipping back and forth to detect the tiny movement of comets against the static stars.
"No one knew who he was. He sold paintings of cats in Balboa Park to survive. The man who held the universe in his mind died alone."