Gregg Thompson (astronomer)

Gregg D. Thompson of Brisbane, Australia is an amateur astronomer and the executive director of the Dreamtech Designs and Productions company.

Astronomy

Gregg Thompson was one of the founding members of the Southern Astronomical Society (SAS).^[1] Before 1981 he started making a set of charts of bright galaxies, designed to help deep sky observers in their search for extragalactic supernovae.^[2] In 1985 he received the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, together with Robert Owen Evans,^[3] who had made several supernova discoveries using Thompson's charts.^[2] Evans wrote that the number of galaxies he was able to observe grew substantially after the charts were produced. Gregg Thompson also helped verify some of Evans' discoveries.^[4]

Public outreach

In 1990 Gregg Thompson co-authored with James T. Bryan, Jr. the astronomical atlas The Supernova Search Charts and Handbook, containing 248 comparison charts of 345 of the brightest galaxies,^[5] highly valued especially by supernova hunters and recommended by the Supernova Search Committee of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.^[6] In 1993 he published The Australian Guide to Stargazing, a manual for both naked-eye and telescope observing of the sky of the southern hemisphere with explanatory diagrams, photographs and detailed drawings, describing the basics of the night sky observation to novice amateur astronomers.^[7]

With his Dreamtech Designs and Productions company he also opened the educational interactive high-tech attractions SpaceWalker and Infinity at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.^[7][8]

References

1. "The Southern Astronomical Society Celebrates its 20th Anniversary". Astronomical Events. Southern Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
2. Evans, Robert (1993). Supernova Search Manual. Cambridge, USA: American Association of Variable Star Observers. ISBN 1-878174-11-8.
3. "Past Amateur Achievement Winners". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
4. Evans, Robert. "Searching for Supernovae: A More Personal Story". Research in Evangelical Revivals. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
5. "Supernova Search Charts and Handbook, Pack/set ICL - Abstract". The Smithsonian/NASA Astrophysics Data System. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
6. "Supernova Search Observing Program". American Association of Variable Star Observers. Archived from the original on 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
7. Wheeler, Chris. "SAS Library". Southern Astronomical Society. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
8. "Qld: World s first funhouse for the future on the Gold Coast". AAP General News (Australia). Australian Associated Press. 2000-08-08. Retrieved 2007-09-15.