About Me

Kurt Zeppetello is from Syracuse, NY, and received an AAS from Onondaga Community College in 1986, a BS from Oswego State University in 1989, a MS from Arizona State University (ASU) in 1992, a Teaching Certificate from Bridgewater State University in 2003, and a Sixth Year degree is Science Education from Southern Connecticut State University in 2008. While at ASU he did research on the presence of extraterrestrial amino acids associated with Cretaceous - Tertiary boundary outcrops in the Raton Basin bordering Colorado and New Mexico.

Upon graduation from ASU he became involved with remediating numerous soil and groundwater contamination sites in and around Arizona. His duties included soil sampling, ground and surface water sampling, installation of monitoring wells, aquifer testing, and other remedial investigations to name a few. He later worked for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) as a Senior Hydrogeologist where again he was responsible for remedial investigations on state WQARF sites, federal Superfund sites, and federal RCRA sites. In addition, he has presented at workshops for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Arizona Hydrological Society (AHS). While working for ADEQ, Mr. Zeppetello started a second career as adjunct instructor of Geology at Mesa Community College (MCC). After moving with his wife to Cambridge, MA in 2001, he found employment as a Senior Project Hydrogeologist with Weston Solutions where he developed remediation plans and performed site restoration on behalf of the EPA.

In 2002, Mr. Zeppetello officially began his second career when he obtained a full-time teaching position at Stoughton High School in Massachusetts where he taught Chemistry and General Science. After moving to Connecticut the following year, Mr. Zeppetello started his current teaching position at Seymour High School. At Seymour he has taught General Science, Extended Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, and AP Chemistry. He was instrumental in developing AP Chemistry at Seymour High School and Astronomy.

In addition to teaching high school students, Mr. Zeppetello has instructed colleagues with use of technology in the classroom during professional development short courses and was nominated for Teacher of the Year for 2012. Finally, he has two publications: 1) Dinosaur Demise from a Collision: A Theory in the Making (2008): Dinosaur Demise From a Collision.pdf and 2) Online CFAs – What A Relief! (2010): http://goo.gl/PYjk7.

For fun, Mr. Zeppetello enjoys imaging deep sky objects in his home built astronomy shed or anywhere else with clear skies!  He has always enjoyed astronomy and more recently has become passionate about astrophotography. His wife, son, and dog who also support this time consuming hobby. Kurt specializes in deep sky objects of all types, i.e. non-solar system targets, be it galaxies, clusters, or nebula. Recently, he has become interested in imaging unusual and less studied objects such as dark reflection nebula, enjoying how the dust reflects the light from nearby stars producing many different soft colors as well the unusual shapes they have. He shares what he has learned with regard to imaging nebulae, galaxies and star clusters with on his website and YouTube Channel.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/AstroQuest1 

Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/kurtzepp/collections/