Gary W. Kronk received his Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He has been employed at Washington University at St. Louis since 1985, where he is a programmer analyst, and occasionally teaches classes on software programs.
Observing, researching, and writing about comets is an activity the author has participated in for most of his life, with over 2,000 observations of over 130 comets. He is the author of seven titles, and has been published in โSky & Telescope,โ โAstronomy,โ โIcarus,โ โthe Journal of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observersโ and more. His books include โComets: A Descriptive Catalogโ (Enslow Publishers, 1984), โMeteor Showersโ (Enslow, 1988), and a six volume series title โCometographyโ with Cambridge University Press. The 5th volume was published in 2010. In 2004, the International Astronomical Unionโs Minor Planet Center announced that minor planet number 48300 was being given the name โKronkโ in honor of the authorโs extensive research for his Cometography series.