Contributors

I got into astrophotography in July 2015 after receiving my first telescope as a gift. Much trial and error later, I now have four astrophotography rigs set up in my backyard in Dayton, OH, including one dedicated to variable star and exoplanet transit observations, and I am now also a Contributing Editor at Astronomy Magazine. I love doing STEM and astronomy outreach both in-person at public stargazes and virtually on YouTube and at astronomy club meetings and classrooms across the country. I am an AAVSO Ambassador (American Association of Variable Star Observers), an Explore Alliance Ambassador, and a panelist and broadcaster for The Astro Imaging Channel weekly YouTube show. I have a B.S. in Physics from Washington State University, and am currently pursuing my PhD in Nuclear Engineering while snuggling with my two cats, Orion and Apollo.

Larry Carlino is an avid, life-long astronomy enthusiast, lunar, planetary, and deep-sky observer and the owner of more than 100 telescopes over the past several decades. He is a writer, a poet (latest work "Between") and a retired teacher of English.

A science, travel and technology journalist for over 20 years, UK-based Jamie Carter writes for Forbes Science, Sky and Telescope magazine, the BBC's Sky At Night, Travel+Leisure and the South China Morning Post. He edits WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, leads tours to see eclipses, and regularly tweets about stargazing (@jamieacarter) and eclipses (@thenexteclipse).

David is a freelance science writer, frequent contributor to Sky & Telescope and Universe Today, author of several astronomy books and long-time amateur astronomer. He lives with his wife Myscha in Norfolk, Virginia.

Alan Dyer is an astrophotographer and astronomy author based in Alberta, Canada. His website at www.amazingsky.com has galleries of his images, plus links to his product review blog posts, video tutorials, and ebooks on astrophotography.

Elizabeth Howell, Ph.D., is one of the few science journalists in Canada to focus on space exploration, with bylines in dozens of publications in the United States and Canada. She has attended several human spaceflight launches in Florida and Kazakhstan, and simulated a Red Planet mission at the Mars Desert Research Station. She also teaches technical writing and does consulting.

Lee Pullen is a science writer and communicator from the city of Bristol, UK. He has a degree in Astronomy and a master's in Science Communication. He began his career writing for organisations including the Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre and the European Southern Observatory, as well as becoming Staff Writer for the International Year of Astronomy 2009, the world's largest ever science outreach initiative. Lee runs the website UrbanAstrophotography.com

Mike Simmons has been an amateur astronomer outreach program organizer for almost 50 years. He is a past president of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and was co-founder and president of the Mount Wilson Observatory Association, He co-chaired the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project for the International Year of Astronomy 2009, and is founder and past president of Astronomers Without Borders.

Fiona Mischel is a medical, environmental and humanitarian tech writer. She regularly covers climate change solutions, CRISPR research, biotech for space travel and astrophysics. Her work appears regularly for SynBioBeta and Livestrong and she is a consultant for Healthline.

I've spent 16 years with Dept. of Defense space operations, testing, and research. I'm currently a PhD candidate in space systems engineering, and the Technical Director for a government laboratory. I love engaging with STEM outreach and education opportunities. I've also been informed I'm a "gear nut" and that I suffer from severe GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). What can I say, some people like Pokémon, I like collecting photons and photon collectors.

William "Bill" Paolini has been actively involved in optics and amateur astronomy for 45 years, is author of the desk reference on astronomical eyepieces: Choosing and Using Astronomical Eyepieces which is part of the Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series published by Springer of New York, has published numerous product reviews on major online amateur astronomy boards, and volunteers with public tours at a famous vintage Clark refractor site.

Robert Reeves has been exploring the Moon since 1958 and took his first lunar photograph in 1959. He began telescopic astronomy with a four-inch Criterion Dynascope. Today, Reeves uses a Celestron 11 Edge HD, a Sky-Watcher 180mm Maksutov, and a Sky-Watcher 20-inch Stargate Dobsonian for lunar photography, and a Celestron C-14 with a Hyperstar for deep-sky photography from his Perspective Observatory located in central Texas. Robert has published over 250 magazine articles and 200 newspaper columns about astronomy and has authored several books, including The Superpower Space Race, The Conquest of Space (co-authored with Fritz Bronner), Wide-Field Astrophotography, Introduction to Digital Astrophophotography and, most recently, Introduction to Webcam Astrophotography. Although Robert Reeves is an accomplished deep sky astrophotographer, his current passion is re-popularizing the Moon with the public and the amateur astronomy community. He enjoys speaking to astronomy conventions and spreading his passion for the Moon.

“Uncle” Rod Mollise, a Contributing Editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, is familiar to amateur astronomers as the author of numerous books and magazine articles on every aspect of astronomy, amateur and professional. He is most well known, however, for his books on Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes, SCTs, and especially Choosing and Using a New CAT (Springer), now in its second edition, which has become the standard reference for these instruments. In addition to Sky & Telescope and his books, Rod’s writing can be found in his popular online blog, Uncle Rod’s Astro Blog. Somehow, he also finds time to teach astronomy to undergraduates at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, and to voyage the night sky with his beloved telescopes.

Rouzbeh Bidshahri is a mechanical engineer with a lifelong passion for astrophotography. He has tested dozens of telescopes ranging from 3 to 20 inches in aperture and has spent several years optimizing systems for very high-resolution planetary imaging in the sub 0.1 arcsecond/pixel range. He has contributed to several institutions such as ALPO (The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers). His main area of interest has been designing and operating larger setups, and he is currently focusing on high resolution, long exposure photography for both broadband and narrowband deep sky imaging.

I am a consultant software developer and a keen landscape photographer and astrophotographer. I first became interested in the night sky after receiving a telescope as a gift for my birthday when I was young. I rekindled my interest in astronomy after photographing the Milky Way for the first time when I picked up a camera in my 20s, and I became hooked. I've been passionate about photographing the night sky ever since. I now spend most of my spare time seeking out stunning landscapes and dark skies to fuel my passion for photography.

Ed Ting is a well-known amateur astronomer. His work has appeared in Sky & Telescope, Night Sky, Skywatch, Amateur Astronomy, Discover, and Popular Mechanics magazines. His web site, www.scopereviews.com, is a widely-read telescope review web site. He is a National Science Foundation Ambassador to Chile and a NASA Solar System Ambassador.

I first tried to use binoculars for astronomy in 1957, when my father took me outside to see if we could spot Sputnik. I was hooked! In 2011, I started The Binocular Sky website, to promote this aspect of astronomy. This led to me being invited to write a monthly Binocular Tour for BBC Sky at Night Magazine, for which I also write equipment reviews and articles on practical astronomy. I also teach astronomy courses, am a STEM ambassador, and do practical astronomy outreach with people of all ages. I am a speaker on the UK astronomy society circuit.

Brian Ventrudo is a writer, scientist, and astronomy educator. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering physics from McMaster University and an M.Sc. degree in astronomy from Western University. During a twenty-year scientific career, he developed laser systems to detect molecules found in interstellar space and planetary atmospheres, and leveraged his expertise to create laser technology for optical communications networks. Since 2008, Brian has taught astronomy to tens of thousands of stargazers through his websites OneMinuteAstronomer.com and CosmicPursuits.com.