Dr. John W. "Jack" Evans

NOAO Newsletter - NOAO Highlights - December 1999 - Number 60

John W. Evans (1909-1999), First Head of Solar Observatory

George Simon

The people of the National Solar Observatory and the worldwide solar community have lost one of their greatest friends, supporters, colleagues, and mentors. John W. (Jack) Evans, first Director of the Sacramento Peak Observatory (Sac Peak), from 1952 to 1976, and his wife, Elizabeth (Betty), died on October 31st at their home in Santa Fe. He was 90 and she was 89. They had been married 67 years.

Jack, who received his PhD from Harvard in 1938, was the third recipient (1982) of the Hale Prize of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society. He won the David Richardson Medal (1987) of the Optical Society of America, and was given Honorary Doctor of Science degrees by the University of New Mexico (1967) and Swarthmore College (1970). He received the Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1957) and was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1964). He also received a number of prizes and awards from the Air Force, which operated the Sacramento Peak Observatory while he was the Director, including the Rockefeller Award for Distinguished Public Service (1969), the Distinguished Civilian Service Award (1965), the Guenter Loeser Memorial Award (1967), and the Outstanding Achievement Award (1970).

Starting from a bare site in the Lincoln National Forest, Jack collected an outstanding scientific staff, and with their help, built Sac Peak into the world's premier solar observatory. During those years Sac Peak was such a magnet that over 80% of all US solar astronomers, and over 60% of solar physicists worldwide, spent time at Sac Peak. A number of these scientists later became Directors of other solar institutions. The observatory cost about $100 million to build and remains the only nationally supported solar observatory in the United States. It is now financed chiefly by the National Science Foundation

The Evans are survived by their daughter Nancy, of Santa Fe, by another daughter, Jeanne Regentin of Harbor Springs, Michigan, and by a son, Wayne, of San Carlos, Mexico.

A memorial service for Jack and Betty Evans was held at the Sunspot Astronomy and Visitor Center on November 12, 1999, with family, friends, and former colleagues in attendance. http://www.noao.edu/noao/noaonews/dec99/node7.html

New York Times-- November 6, 1999

John Evans, 90, Ex-Director Of National Solar Observatory

By WILLIAM H. HONAN

John W. Evans, an astrophysicist who was the first director of the National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, N.M., and his wife, Betty, died on Sunday at their home in a suburb of Santa Fe, N.M., in what the local police described as an apparent murder-suicide. Dr. Evans was 90 and his wife was 89.

Dr. Evans used a revolver to kill his wife and then himself, leaving a note saying they did not wish to become a burden on their children, said Nancy Evans, their daughter.

The note also said they wanted to leave while they were gloriously happy, Ms. Evans said.

In 1952, after a distinguished academic career, Dr. Evans was appointed the founding director of the Sunspot observatory, which was then known as the Air Force's Sacramento Peak Observatory.

It cost about $100 million to build, and it remains the only nationally supported solar observatory in the United States. The observatory is now financed chiefly by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Evans retired in 1974 but continued to work at the observatory, designing, building, testing and operating new instruments to study the Sun.

John Wainwright Evans was born in New York City on May 14, 1909. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Swarthmore College in 1932 and a master's degree and a doctorate in astronomy from Harvard in 1938.

He taught astronomy at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., at the University of Minnesota and at the University of Rochester before taking the post in New Mexico.

Besides their daughter Nancy, of Santa Fe, Dr. and Mrs. Evans are survived by another daughter, Jeanne Regentin of Harbor Springs, Mich., and a son, Wayne, of San Carlos, Mexico.

Dr. Evans chose the name Sunspot for the community where the observatory was established.

He asked everyone to make suggestions and said the name would be determined by a vote, said a former colleague, George Simon. But he preferred Sunspot and we always thought the election was rigged.

John W. Evans Solar Facility

The John W. Evans Solar Facility consists of two main telescopes: a 16" coronagraph and a 12" coelostat telescope. Each of these telescopes can be used to feed one of several instruments. This means that two observing programs can be run simultaneously.

The Evans Facility is used to conduct observations of the sun for both local staff and visiting scientists worldwide. Observations are made of the solar corona, and also of transient phenomena such as flares, eruptive prominences, and surges, as well as quiet sun features. http://nsosp.nso.edu/esf/

Concise History of Sacramento Peak Observatory

September 1947: Two observers camp out at the Sacramento Peak site to test how good observations from that spot are.

21 April 1948: The US Air Force contracts then Harvard University's High Altitude Observatory to design a solar observatory at Sacramento Peak.

Early 1949: Active observations from Sacramento Peak begin.

Later in 1949: The Grain Bin Dome is opened for use.

6 April 1951: Sacramento Peak is formally taken over by the US Air Force Cambridge Research Center. It is called the Upper Air Research Activity.

4 September 1952: Dr. John W. Evans is appointed superintendent, and the observatory's position in the USAF hierarchy is upgraded. It is renamed the Upper Air Research Observatory.

1953: The Big Dome (today called the John W. Evans Facility) is opened for use.

1 May 1956: The name of the observatory is changed to Sacramento Peak Observatory.

1959: Dr. Evans becomes the first director of Sacramento Peak Observatory.

1963: The Hilltop Dome is opened for use.

1970: The Vacuum Tower Telescope is opened for use.

1976: The Air Force hands over Sacramento Peak Observatory to the National Science Foundation, who contracts the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) to operate it.

1984: AURA combines its ground-based observatories into the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO). Within NOAO, Sacramento Peak is combined with the solar group at Kitt Peak National Observatory into the National Solar Observatory.