Greg Piepol
From AstronomyOutreach network
Over the years, Greg Piepol had plenty of opportunities to view the night sky. It wasn't until he looked through a hydrogen-alpha filter at the sun that he found his calling: observing and imaging the solar chromosphere. Now, Greg is tuned into the daily activities of the sun and is always searching for new ways of enhancing the view of our ever changing star.
Piepol is constantly involved in educational outreach to the public through his live demonstrations. His images are used in public, government and educational resources and have been featured in everything from Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), MSNBC, The History Channel, The American Heritage Dictionary, Spaceweather.com, Sky & Telescope, Astronomy Magazine, and thousands of blogs, newsletters, presentations and school reports worldwide. Publications include Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters, The Sun and How to Observe It, Astronomy, Sky & Telescope and Nature magazines to name a few. They continue to be used in technical and teaching resources worldwide.
Greg's Pro-Am collaborations include The National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Helio-Research Institute and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. He is also a founding member of the Meade Instruments Corporation 4M Advisers (Solar).
In 2009, two of Greg's solar images were featured in "From the Earth To The Universe" (FETTU) global travelling exhibition initiated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO). This International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) project brought astronomical images to non-conventional science locations on a truly global scale. The program was shown to millions of people at over 250 locations in 70 countries.
Greg's latest astronomy article "Catch the Nearest Star" appeared in the February issue of Sky and Telescope Magazine.
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Outreach
It's no secret that Greg's passion is public outreach. Greg explains: "Observing our star provides one of the most memorable experiences in amateur astronomy. A person's first look at the sun through a properly equipped telescope is not quickly forgotten and can be compared to the first time they saw Saturn in a telescope. It's that good!"
Awards
A recipient of the 2011 AstronomyOutreach Award (the "Astro Oscar") Greg has won numerous awards, including the 'Astronomical League's first ever Webmaster of the Year" award in 2003. He was awarded the Telly Award for his contributions to Astrocast.tv. His website won further recognition with Griffith Observatory's Star Award for its promotion of astronomical awareness. Sungazer.net offers hydrogen-alpha, calcium K, 3D and zoom-able solar images and includes solar resources and historic solar advertisements.
Lecturer
Greg is a dynamic speaker and is one of the best presenters on the Sun today. While he is no longer available for live in-person lectures, you can reach Greg for Skype presentations through his award-winning website Sungazer.net.
Commercial Endeavours
Greg reproduces his solar images through his company Sungazer Metallic Photos. Each image is printed on a professional grade metallic photo paper to give the shot an elegant iridescent glow. His images are sold at 5 online stores with representation in 44 countries.
Personal
Greg lives in Rockville Maryland USA.