Author: Eric Betz

Eric is a native of Santa Cruz, California, and grew up wandering rugged beaches and coastal redwood forests. That time spent outdoors led him to love the night sky.   He ultimately attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he earned his bachelor’s degree with a double major in physics and astronomy. Throughout college, he worked at the local ski resort in the winters and studied Mars at the USGS Shoemaker Center for Astrogeology. He also volunteered on public nights every clear Friday at the campus observatory.   A friend coaxed him into taking a science writing course and several semesters later he graduated with a journalism degree specializing in environmental reporting. Eric has since authored hundreds of stories, covering everything from dinosaur digs to the logging industry, and from endangered species to space tourism and anything compelling in between.   He joined Astronomy most recently from the Arizona Daily Sun, where he reported on science and the environment in the world’s First International Dark-Sky City. Eric now lives in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood with his partner, Julia, and their two crazy dogs. In his spare time, he still enjoys wandering in the wilderness, as well as restoring old Volkswagens and sampling all that a city built on beer and cream has to offer.