From the May 2010 issue

A roundabout love of the sky

Dutch-American astronomer Bart Bok was interested in astronomy from a young age. One well-known story about what sparked his interest might surprise you.
By | Published: May 24, 2010 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
Milky Way
Center of the Milky Way.
ESO/S. Gillessen, et al

Shortly after moving to The Hauge, Netherlands, in 1918, Bart Bok was a Boy Scout patrol leader. During a campfire with the scouts, one of the boys asked him to identify a star. It turned out that patrol leader Bok had no idea what any star was.