Herman later presented this finding at a poster session of the American Geophysical Union. So he went to the archives and found that when Baltimore’s streets were laid out in 1730, magnetic north was offset from true north by 3.9 degrees, meaning that a lazy surveyor had used his compass and not corrected for true north. He knew that the earth has two norths: the true north of the North Pole (and Polaris) and the magnetic north to which compass needles point. Then he remembered an oddity he’d noticed about the Baltimore map: It shows a grid that’s tidy and square but slightly canted, 3.5 degrees off true north. He’d begin by orienting his telescope on true north-astronomers usually orient on the North Star, Polaris, but it’s too dim in daylight-so instead he’d sight up a north-south street, then nudge the telescope to the right. Years ago, he used to go out during the day-more customers-and aim his telescope at the planets or the moon, and he got pretty good at finding the bright Arcturus.
He reports every penny to the IRS and lives, he says, low on the hog. His current income is from Social Security (his job history has included truck driver, lab tech, office manager for a small construction company, T-shirt designer, and a stint in the Korean War) and maybe $4,000–$6,000 a year (it used to be more like $10,000) from telescoping.
#Astronomical phenomena march 1921 free
He puts out a plastic cowboy hat-looking is free but contributions are welcome-that he’d reclaimed from his trash his first night out and kept it because that night he collected $10 and the next night, $40. He makes less money there than in the more tourist-rich Inner Harbor, but in Fells Point the parking is nearer and at the Inner Harbor, while getting to and from his car he worried about muggers. These days he sets up in a nightlife-rich area on the harbor called Fells Point. He’s out about 60 nights a year-it used to be three or four times a week. Herman Heyn is Baltimore’s local sidewalk astronomer.
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