In order to leave to the future generations an appreciation of the career of an astronomer prolific in publishing and one of the five Belgian discoverers of comets to this day, it was suggested to set up a fonds gathering those publications and a number of other pieces.
In October 2023, an agreement was reached with the Belgian National Archives for these to host the collection of publications André HECK carefully maintained over the years, together with additional items such as the discovery and tracking plates of Comet 1972VIII/1973a and the prints from the original copper plates of Coronelli's 1693 celestial globe etched by Nolin. Heck obtained these from the French Musées Nationaux in the 1980s.
His diaries, travel notes and other pieces gathered along the years like the working notes when visiting archive centers and libraries for historical investigations were also preserved as well as files holding professional documents from his various jobs and responsibilities, potentially of interest to future historians.
A first load was deposited on 06 October 2023, with the complement to be transferred after the donator's death. Note that an embargo of ten years after the donator's death has been set for a public access to the Fonds.
The statement posted on this page confirms the existence of the Fonds at the Liège section of the Belgian National Archives.
Honors and Biographical Listings
Detailed CV in "45 years of Heck in Professional Astronomy" by Joe Hube (ISBN 978-2-9542677-3-9).