The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has designated asteroid 1995 TD in honor of longtime Sky & Telescope editor and MassArt alumnus Sean Walker, BFA ’96 (Painting),  naming it 13623 Seanwalker.

“In addition to noting Sean’s work at the magazine, the IAU also noted that Sean is an “accomplished American artist” – having seen his painting firsthand, I can definitely vouch for that. And for those of you familiar with the work he has done at Sky & Telescope over the past couple of decades, you’ll know he’s an incredibly accomplished astrophotographer.

“Sean was born in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. But astronomy has always been a part of his life — his mother had a telescope and showed views of the planets to a young Sean and his three brothers.

“While Sean was in college, one of the ways he supplemented his income was by taking slides of fellow artists’ work for their portfolios. In so doing, he learned the ins-and-outs of photography. Another side gig was working in the Audio/Visual department at Harvard University’s Science Center, where among his duties Sean would shoot 35-mm slides of the pages of Sky & Telescope for the lectures by historian of astronomy Owen Gingerich. After completing the work for Gingerich, Sean would then devour the pages of the magazine. Both side gigs set the stage for his future career.”

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