Stephen J. Edberg is a retired JPL scientist, professional astronomer, and an amateur astronomer at home and at his observatory in California.
Family pictures show that astronomy was planted in him as a baby, with the young astronomer really discovering his interest in 9th grade. During his high school years, he began his continuing interest in meteors and other transitory events in the sky, developed his skill in astrophotography, and led the astronomy club at Covina High School. His first summer job after high school was at High Altitude Observatory. During his undergraduate years he worked at Mt. Wilson Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory. Between graduate school-years he gained experience at Siding Spring Observatory, the Australian National Radio Astronomy Observatory, and Sacramento Peak Observatory.
Steve Edberg gives a talk on Gravitational Waves and the LIGO experiment.
Following 20 months at San Fernando Observatory, he moved to NASA JPL for the next 38 years. There he worked on Galileo to Jupiter, Cassini to Saturn, the Comet Rendezvous & Asteroid Flyby, the Space Interferometry Mission, and other NASA projects. He served as Coordinator for Amateur Observations for the International Halley Watch.
Steve makes astronomical instruments and is an avid eclipse chaser and expedition organizer. He has observed 18 total solar eclipses from land, sea, and air, 5 annular eclipses, numerous partial eclipses, and a wide variety of other transitory events involving the Sun, Moon, stars, planets and their satellites, asteroids, and meteors as well as other natural phenomena and NASA experiments in Earth’s atmosphere and near-Earth space. Steve retired from the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference, Inc. after serving for 22 years as Executive Director.
Awards and Recognition
He has been honored by the International Astronomical Union with the formal naming of the asteroid 1985QQ as (3672) Stevedberg.
Steve Edberg is a JPL/NASA Solar System Ambassador
Activities and Events
Explore Alliance Event: The 60-inch Star Party at Mt. Wilson Observatory - Lecture September 28, 2019
Explore Alliance Event: The Ring of Fire Eclipse and Bailey's Beads at Church Rock, Utah - Demonstration October 14th, 2023
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