Carolyn Collins Petersen

Experience

Carolyn Collins Petersen is a science writer, producer, and former research astronomer. She is the CEO of Loch Ness Productions, a production company specializing educational documentary shows for planetariums and science centers. She has published 7 books on astronomy and planetary science, including Astronomy 101, Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future, and Hubble Vision. 

In addition to her own books and articles on astronomy, Carolyn has written exhibition texts for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Previously, Carolyn worked on a Hubble Space Telescope instrument team and served as an editor for Sky Publishing, which publishes Sky & Telescope and Skywatch. Carolyn has written more than 40 documentaries and several webcasts on space science, and she regularly gives public presentations and lectures on topics in astronomy.

Education

Carolyn earned a master's degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder, where she studied astronomy, astrophysics, and science communication. She also received her B.S. from the University of Colorado.

Publications

• Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future, 2017, Amberley Books
• Astronomy 101: From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe, 2013, Adams Media
• Visions of the Cosmos (with J.C. Brandt), 2005, Cambridge University Press
• Hubble Vision (with J.C. Brandt), 2003, Cambridge University Press (two editions)
• The New Solar System (editor, with K. Beatty and A.C. Chaikin), 1999, Cambridge University Press and Sky Publishing
• Jupiter! 1989, Facts on File.

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