Primary organizer and tour leader for RING OF FIRE EXPEDITIONS, he has spent more than 50 years leading solar eclipse and Northern Lights expeditions around the world. As of August 2025 he has observed 89 solar eclipses inclusive of partial, annular and total eclipses and likely holds the record for the most solar eclipses seen by anyone alive or dead. Paul has traveled to 308 countries, former countries, islands and territories and was elected to the Explorers Club as a result of his accomplishments.  His wife, Dr. J. Lynn Palmer, who first met him in Peru after the total eclipse of 1994, has seen 49 solar eclipses––-currently making her the female with the most eclipses observed to date.

Formerly worked at the NASA Johnson Space Center supporting Apollo, Skylab, Shuttle, and International Space Station programs for the Mission Operations Directorate. He holds degrees in astronomy and mathematics, physical science and business and designed RING OF FIRE EXPEDITIONS as a public outreach arm of the NASA Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society in Houston, Texas USA.

He has conducted numerous science and personal expeditions overseas and continues to design new ones each year.

His specialty is observing occultations of stars by asteroids and space debris tracking; hobbies include running and visiting active volcanoes.

Paul has observed nearly 1,300 eclipses of start by asteroids as of 2026. The binary asteroid 1981CH was named 27675 Paulmaley at the September 3, 2019 5th Workshop on Binaries, Ft. Collins, Co. On March 7, 2026 he single-handedly discovered a satellite of the small asteroid 2000 PT13 using a telescope at his home after 49 years of attempts.