Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer’s Almanac, Space.com, as well as many other publications. He is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. In 2015 he was voted “Best Local Television Personality” by the readers of Westchester Magazine. Joe was also nominated for an Emmy in 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2016 for On-Camera Achievement. Joe, his wife Renate, and their two children Joseph and Maria, reside in Putnam County, New York.

Dagney Downey is an illustrator, storyboard artist, graphic novelist, and bluegrass musician. He often works late into the night, where he gets all his good ideas—when he’s not chasing raccoons out of the yard. He’s currently working on illustrating and writing more books for kids based on his rock band days. As a kid he wanted a pet raccoon, but not anymore.