I took Mr. Fraknoi's class 5 years back. He definitely is/was a great professor. I completely agree that he mixed humor and science and made astronomy understandable. All the best
Mike

I wonder how many of his students, or people who are just now reading about him, realize how much of a Bay-Area treasure Andrew Fraknoi is?

First time I heard him speak was at a large public lecture across the bay some 44 years ago. To this day, I remember some of his phrasings.

His career has coincided with an era of rapid-fire discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. By the early 1970s he was already busy informing the general public about neutron stars, quasars, pulsars, black holes, and the origins and interrelations of these things. For many people, it was the first they'd heard of such phenomena.

"To turn astronomy into a subject that everyone can access," truly.

Distinctive speaker. Hosted so many great public astronomy talks at Foothill by various luminaries over the years. His total eclipse primer last month filled Smithwick.

I've just taken Professor Fraknoi's general astronomy class and I LOVED it. Such a math- and science-heavy subject usually intimidates the heck out of me, but Fraknoi made astronomy accessible and, to my amazement, interesting.

Fraknoi really is a Bay Area institution. Foothill College was lucky to have him.

I am happy to hear the quarterly Silicon Valley astronomy lectures, which Fraknoi founded, will continue.

Happy retirement, Professor Fraknoi! Hope you will someday spill the beans about this mysterious little brother.