John Gianforte has been an astronomer since 1964. Ever since then, he has watched and photographed the sky, always sharing his observations and images with others.|John spends much of his observing time at his own observatory in Durham or at the University of New Hampshire's facility. His main research interests are studying extrasolar planets, cataclysmic variable stars, comets, the Sun and Moon as well as the planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.|He has been teaching astronomy-related classes at the college level since 2002 and considers it one of the very most important things he does.|John has a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering Technology and a Master of Science degree in Astronomy and has over 300 published articles in astronomy and space-related topics.