by Rene Gedaly

It is with deep regret that we mark the passing of past Observatory Chairman and longtime HAS member Michael Blair Dye. Mike was the longest serving Observatory Chairman, in office from 1990 through 2005. The evolution of the observatory during this period brought the society very close to the facility we enjoy today.

To keep the membership informed, Mike wrote a regular article for the Guidestar and then the GuideStar called "Observatory Corner." At the start of each year, Mike also published a calendar listing of prime nights, members observatory night, and the weekends of new moon and full moon to help members plan their observing . Each quarter he also published an observatory duty list of site supervisors and site workers, some of whom are still HAS members.

Mike’s wife Judy Ann Dye volunteered with the club right along with him, both at the observatory and also by running the HAS logo sales. Some of those logo articles of clothing are still sported at the dark site by longtime members and legacies. Mike was observatory chairman when the observatory phone was removed by Ma Bell as part of deregulation. It seems the phone was taking in $0.05 a day; not enough to break even, not even in 1999. 

Mike Dye will be missed by the many members lucky enough to have known him and with gratitude by those who observe at the HAS Observatory.