Yes, Wally Brown was an early SAC member. But Wally passed away several years ago. Regarding any copyright issues for the materials that Wally authored, I do not know how to contact his family. I have copies of the materials that Wally originated (that was 30 years ago), and that material is also in the hands of AJ Crayon (our Messier Marathon guru) and several others. There were no further updates to Wally's booklet. He submitted it for publication to several of the astronomy magazine publishers, but they took no action... In other words, he was blocked from further submittals. SAC has no legal standing, and so there is no possibility of any copyright action from the club.
I believe that if the requestor simply re-worked the material, quoting portions and citing Wally's authorship, it would be permissible under the "fair use" doctrine.
Gene Lucas On 3/7/2011 7:19 PM, AJ Crayon wrote:
Chris, I remember Wally Brown producing this document which, at that time, was an excellent source for observing. (BTW, Wally was the first chairman for the newly formed Deep Sky Group.) We had a similar request like this some 10 or 15 years ago and couldn't find a way to contact any of Wally's next of kin. He passed away over a decade ago, the date of which I'm not certain. It was suggested that the requestor go ahead with his project and see if anything turns up. We never heard anything good or bad since.AJ Crayon Phoenix, AZ ----- Original Message ----- *From:* Chris Hanrahan <mailto:chris.hanrahan@xxxxxxx> *To:* sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *Sent:* Monday, March 07, 2011 7:13 PM *Subject:* [sac-forum] Question for the emeriti in the group... All,Received the following note. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Gene?Please contact this gentleman if you have additional information. Thanks... Chris ---- Hi Saguaro Astronomy club, I have, in my travel suite case of astronomy paper resources, a great old, hand typed/copied book that Wally Brown made for a class for amateur astronomers in the early/mid 1980's. The cover has "Astro Class Classics: a selection of 'gems' from our popular classes and lectures on amateur astronomy. Wilson Camera." The class I attended was at Wilson Camera on Camelback Rd. I would like to use parts in astronomy classes I teach and with a local astronomy club (I live in Colorado now) and would like to get copy permissions and/or see if newer versions of the booklet are out there. So was Wally Brown (the copyright holder and author) ever an (early) SAC member and do you have any way to forward my request to him (or give me an email address)? Thanks! John Ensworth 507 Cherrywood Dr. Longmont, CO 80504 johnensworth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (720-378-2771) Just for fun, here is the table of contents...the Messier Marathon aid is fantastic as are much of the basics of observing! CONTENTS Polar Alignment Equatorial Stars TOP Alignment Lunar Phases Directions in Sky Chart Use/Tricks Charts, Patterns, Overlay Image Inversion/Reversal & Charts Distances, Overlay-Grid Star/Object Hops, Rolls Misc. Data, Formulae, Notes . Reference Points Avoiding the Moon Seeing/Transparency Thermal equilibrium Telescope limits Formula for Powers Powers to Use Powers to Split Determining Eyepiece Fields Types of Eyepieces Big May Be Faint Time Conversions Solar Filters Cleaning Tips Recommended Reference 50-Object "Taster" Messier Catalog 100 Color-Contrasting Doubles 36 Select (Non-M) NGC's Planet Roll call, Data Milky Way Orientation, Features Messier Marathon Addenda: Wilson Seminars
