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02 April 2004

Editorial: Meet Tony Kostusik, a meteorite collector, photographer, pilot and kindred spirit

Forrest M. Mims III

Several months ago I attended a meeting where I met Tony Kostusik, a successful businessman. While talking science with Kostusik, he mentioned that he collected meteorites. He even had a specimen with him, and he asked if I would I like to see it.

Not having seen many meteorite specimens outside of museums or gem and mineral shows, I said I would very much like to see the specimen. Kostusik went to his room and returned a few minutes later with a large, shiny slab of polished metal enclosed in a display case.

Kostusik told me the name of this particular kind of meteorite, but I must confess that I don't remember it. But I did ask permission to make the close-up photograph of a small section of the specimen that appears nearby.

Later I learned that Kostusik is also a photographer and a pilot. This is a combination that has interested me ever since childhood, when my late father, Forrest M. Mims, Jr., returned from most of his Air Force flying missions with a fresh box of 35 mm slides to show the family.

When I expressed interest in Kostusik's photography, he asked if I would like to see some samples. I accepted his invitation, whereupon he placed a laptop computer on a desk, switched it on and casually mentioned he had over 50,000 digital images.

This was amazing. I like to brag that I've got 35,000 digital images on my hard drive, but that's only two-thirds of what Kostusik has on his!

The number of images was less impressive than the variety, for Kostusik has an enormous number of photographs from many locations, both from the ground and from the air. He has many aerial photos of sunrises, sunsets, twilights, clouds, beaches, mountains, valleys, islands, unusual landscapes, and every conceivable body of water. Some of the aerial photos include the plane's instrument panel for his reference purposes.

Most amateur scientists reading this are by now probably thinking pretty much what I was during that much too brief time with Tony Kostusik. While Kostusik might not think of himself as an amateur scientist, he is certainly a kindred spirit. His meteorite collection is substantial, and he hopes to carefully document it. Maybe he will even place images of his specimens on the web someday.

Beyond his passion for collecting meteorites is his love of nature, especially from the air. Now here is a place where some very serious science can be conducted. Kostusik and I discussed various projects that he can do from his aircraft, including measuring changes in the background radiation as he changes altitude and as he flies across the country with his Co-pilot.

One of my big interests is studying twilight glows. Photography of twilight glows and measurements of their optical spectra can yield important information about the presence and altitude of aerosols in the stratosphere. So Kostusik and I discussed ways that can be done from a private aircraft. He even offered to take my up someday, along with some of my instruments to record some twilights.

It's unlikely that there is another person in our midst who shares the same combination of scientific interests as the versatile Tony Kostusik. But surely there must be many kindred spirits out there who have a serious interest in some form of science.

If you know any of these folk, please consider informing them about the Society for Amateur Scientists. Let them know that we are on the lookout for kindred spirits who share our love of science.

While preparing this editorial, I came across Tony Kostusik's name in a most unusual place. It's imprinted on two of four microchips now zooming through space on the Stardust space probe. More than a million names are inscribed on two pairs of identical microchips. One pair is scheduled to return to Earth on January 15, 2006, along with a cargo of particles from the tail of Comet Wild 2. The second pair of microchips will remain in outer space.

Surely some of those people who took the time to send their names to the Stardust mission are, like Tony Kostusik, kindred spirits.