Guide to the Universe: Outer Planets

Glenn Chaple's lifelong interest in astronomy began when a high school friend showed him the planet Saturn through a backyard telescope. After receiving a BS Degree in Astronomy from the University of Massachusetts, he worked briefly as a planetarium lecturer before becoming a middle school science teacher. He has published articles in Deep Sky Magazine and the children's astronomy magazine Odyssey, and is the author of the book Exploring With a Telescope (1988.) A contributing editor to Astronomy Magazine, he shares his astronomical exploits in the monthly beginner's column Glenn Chaple's Observing Basics.

A long-time avid amateur astronomer living in Massachusetts, Chaple profiles the Jovian planets, that is the gas giants and their many moons, but not the former planet Pluto. His topics include the birth of the Jovian planets, Jupiter's moons as a solar system in miniature, Saturn as the crown jewel of the Solar System (the full sized one), the tipped-over worldUranus, Neptune the planet discovered on paper, Jovian planets beyond our solar system, and Voyager 2's grand tour.