It is with great sadness that I report the passing of the world renowned Australian comet hunter Bill Bradfield (1928-2014). Bill Bradfield was the 20th Century's foremost visual comet hunter, discovering 18-comets between 1972 and 2004. Bill died peacefully after a long illness on the 9th of June.
Sad news Andrew, a legend of Australian (and world!) amateur astronomy. Such are the advances in amateur astronomy that you can say with absolute certainty that there'll never ever be another like him. RIP.
Met Bill at the SPSP that coincided with Comet Hale Bopp.
Had a pair of new 20 x 80 binocs mounted and pointed at the bright short fan like comet on the Western Horizon.
His words...
Wow, Ive never seen a comet like that.
It is sad to hear of Bills passing, I had some correspondence with him in the early 1990's and he was also a guest of the Queensland Astrofest some time back.
A true gentleman and a great observer.
RIP Bill
Very sad news to hear of the death of Bill Bradfield.
He mentored me in comet hunting.
I had the privilege of visiting him several times at his home, and he showed me the amazing home made equipment that he used for his discoveries.
A sad loss to South Australia, astronomy and those who knew him.
I met Bill once quite a few years ago and found his interest in comet discovery very engaging.
In 2011 I won the award named after Bill and it was a real honour to receive the award. The Astronomical Society of South Australia runs the award and I am sure this year will be particularly special for the award recipient.
Sad news. I met Bill once only on 20th October 1989 where he spoke at the ASV's meeting in Melbourne. His talk was very engaging I do recall that! He signed my copy of Leslie Peltier's Starlight Nights.
I feel very saddened by this (it's just sinking in). There was time when it almost seemed Bill had ownership of every bright comet found and the announcement of a new Bradfield comet brought great excitement! Around 1982 I had the opportunity to meet the man in person, and to be honest I was in quiet awe and it wasn't until recent years I attempted to contact him. Sadly, when I finally did contact him again last year his memory had faded and he could not recall his comet hunting times. However, the memories of his achievement's will continue to live on...RIP Bill.
Bill was the president of the Astronomical Society of South Australia in the late 1970s when I lived in Adelaide.
He often announced a new comet at the start of a meeting, exciting times.
