SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Bob Richard’s love of the stars is something that is spreading around Westminster Village like the ever-increasing expanse of space itself.
Richard spent the first 30 or so years of his adult life as a clinical psychologist in the Oakland area.
“When I retired, it was probably 14 or 15 years ago, I did so a little bit reluctantly. But I've had a lot of different interests, and I wanted time to explore those. And of course, astronomy was one of the major ones,” Richard said.
A lifelong stargazer, Richard turned his love of the stars into something that all the residents of Westminster Village can learn from and enjoy.
A love for astronomy
Since his days in junior high school, Richard has had one eye toward the stars.
“It kind of took me from this world to whole other worlds, and learning about all these other worlds out there just was fascinating to me,” Richard said.
When the time came for Richard and his wife to move into Westminster Village, Richard decided to take his love for astronomy and make it accessible to the whole community. Richard pitched the idea of building a fully functional observatory on the grounds of Westminster Village. The village approved, and soon Richard had raised enough funds from interested residents to build his observatory.
Spreading the love
Now, Richard holds regular astronomy sessions for his neighbors. With the help of more tech-minded people, Richard was able to connect his telescope to monitors in the community room for other residents to see. For many, this is the first time seeing such a clear, live image of the stars.
“Many of these folks, even though they've lived long lifetimes, have never seen through a telescope and been able to see anything like what we're doing here,” Richard said.
His passion for space is no longer limited to those in the Scottsdale adult community. Soon, Richard will have his very first article published in Sky & Telescope Magazine, the very same magazine he would read as a child.
“Oh, it's wonderful. Totally. I had absolutely no idea when I moved in here that this happen,” exclaimed Richard with a laugh.
The article Richard penned for the magazine is, of course, about senior citizens becoming amateur astronomers. He’s kind of an expert on the subject.
We are all connected
There is something about looking at stars and planets millions of light years away that somehow puts life on this planet into perspective for Richard.
The raw materials that make up our physical bodies originated from some long-extinguished star. That point is not lost on Richard.
“We are all made of star-stuff,” Richard said, quoting Carl Sagan. “We're really intimately connected to the universe much more than people realize.”
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