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.