Tim Hunter obtained a BA from DePauw University in 1966, an MD from Northwestern University in 1968, a BS from the University of Arizona in 1980, and an MSc degree from Swinburne University (Melbourne) in 2006. Currently, Dr. Hunter is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medical Imaging in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona and was Head of the department 2008-2011. He was on the Arizona Medical Board (AMB) 1997-2006.
Dr. Hunter has been an amateur astronomer since 1950, and he is the owner of two observatories, the 3towers Observatory and the Grasslands Observatory (http://www.3towers.com). He is also a prime example of someone whose hobby has run amok, spending more time and money on it than common sense would dictate. He has been the President of the Tucson
Amateur Astronomy Association, Inc. (TAAA) and a member of the TAAA since 1975. He is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Planetary Science Institute (PSI). Since 1986, Dr. Hunter has been interested in the growing problem of light pollution. In 1987, he and Dr. David Crawford founded the International Dark-Sky Association, Inc. (IDA) [now known as DarkSky International (DSI)]. DSI is a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting quality outdoor lighting and combatting the effects of light pollution.
Since 2007, Dr. Hunter has written a weekly "Sky Spy" column for the Caliente Section of the Arizona Daily Star. In 2023 he published
The Sky at Night - easy enjoyment from your backyard
(University of Arizona Press). He is the first author of
The Barnard Objects - Then and Now
(Springer, 2023).
James McGaha obtained a BS in management and a minor in physics from Georgia Tech University, an MA in management and psychology from Webster University, and a MS in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Arizona. He is currently a retired Air Force pilot and is a skeptic lecturer. He is the Director of the Grasslands Observatory (www.3towers.com) and specializes in asteroid and comet astrometry and photometery. He has made over 2900 MPEC publications and discovered 63 comets. He is a contributing author for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (RASC) and is a coauthor of
The Barnard Objects - Then and Now
(Springer, 2023).
Gerald Orin Dobek obtained two BS degrees in Mathematics; Trinity College and Ferris State University, a MSc Honours in Astronomy from the University of Western Sydney and a DSc in Astronmy/Astrophysics from James Cook University. Jerry is currently the Department Head of Astronomy at Northwestern Michigan College where he teaches Astronmy. As a professional astronomer, he researches small amplitude variable stars using his private observatory at his home in Traverse City, Michigan. Jerry also continues to research dark nebulous material in the Milky Way. In 2011, he republished Edward Emerson Barnard's
A Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way
adding update information and a mosaic of the fifty plates contained within the Atlas.
Jerry holds membership in numerous astronomy and science organisations: IAU, RAS, AAS, AAAS, AAVSO, ASP and is a founding member of the IDA. Along with being an advid observational astronomer, Jerry also enjoys writiing and playing music on his twelve and six string guitars. He is a coauthor of
The Barnard Objects - Then and Now
(Springer, 2023).
