Greg Piepol

Traveling around the world with the United States Air Force, 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.

Greg’s favorite part of the hobby is outreach. He consistently shares the sun and his expertise of the various types of solar equipment inspiring school children and fellow enthusiast alike.  “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!”

Greg’s images have been featured in the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) and Spaceweather.com websites. Publications include Astronomy, Sky and Telescope and Nature magazines to name a few. They continue to be used in technical and teaching resources worldwide.

Greg received the Astronomical League’s first ever “Webmaster of the Year” award in 2003. His website http://www.sungazer.net was awarded the Griffith Observatory 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.

Born in Chicago and raised in Alabama, Greg retired from The US Air Force after 20 of honorable service. Trained as an aircraft electronics technician, he spent 11 years of his career with the Air Force One fleet at Andrews AFB. He and his wife Susan, and their three children reside in Rockville, MD.