Buffalo Township amateur astronomer helps Pitt students reach for stars

Amateur astronomer Ed Potosky helps University of Pittsburgh students reach for the stars.

The Buffalo Township resident who grew up in North Huntingdon helps aspiring astronomy students at his alma mater learn about the history of the Allegheny Observatory as well as different ways to gaze upon the galaxy.

“It’s a pretty historical place, and some of the people that were involved in it were pretty important,” he said. “This gave me a chance to learn some things, too.”

The observatory is located in Riverview Park, a few miles north of the Golden Triangle in Downtown Pittsburgh. The first telescope, a 13-inch refracting one, was installed in 1861. There are now three telescopes. Its first director was Samuel Langley, who is also known for trying to fly a steam-powered airplane and for whom Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., is named.

Potosky, a 1974 Pitt grad with a bachelor’s degree in physics, began giving tours to students in October at the request of observatory director and Pitt professor David Turnshek. The two are good friends and have worked on telescopes together.

“We ground and polished our own mirrors,” Potosky said. “He made a lens and we were very interested in it. He turned it into a profession.”

Potosky’s love of space came at an early age. He and a cousin were playing outside in North Huntingdon one evening. The cousin tried to show him the Big Dipper constellation.

“I looked up and saw some stars, but didn’t see anything that looked like a dipper to me,” he said. “Somehow that triggered something, and I bought some little book about the stars. That got me looking up in the sky, and I learned the patterns of the stars and went from there.”

Potosky graduated from Norwin High School in 1970. During his time at the Westmoreland County school, a science teacher acquired a telescope, and Potosky successfully lobbied the district to install an observatory to help bolster students’ scientific curiosity.

“I had drafting classes and designed the building to work for it, and they built it,” he said “It was just a simple cylinder, but it was pretty interesting to do as a high school kid.”

Potosky would parlay his scientific curiosity and knowledge from Norwin and Pitt into an engineering career. He went to work for Westinghouse Electric after college for 10 years, helping the company computerize steel mills in the United States and overseas.

Potosky went on to join Tippins Machinery Co. in Etna in 1984 through 2003 as a manager of computer engineering. He then spent a few years at General Electric in Pittsburgh, where he helped make inverters that would take power from solar cells and convert it into electricity.

He said he would not be as successful without the support of his wife of 39 years, Kay Potosky. The pair lived in Plum for about 10 years before settling in Buffalo Township.

“At times she had to deal with things on her own,” Potosky said about his work overseas. “We often went for six weeks at a time (apart), so she had to handle everything when I was gone and she did it.”

Potosky’s favorite place to see stars besides Pitt’s observatory is in Cherry Springs State Park near Coudersport.

He said they are easier to observe at night away from “light pollution” such as streetlights, neon advertisements and other illuminations.