Neil deGrasse Tyson

Author profile

born

in New York, New York, The United States

October 05, 1958

gender

male

website

http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/

twitter username

neiltyson

genre

Science, Nonfiction, Astrophysics

About this author

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Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson obtains his data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as from telescopes in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the Andes Mountains of Chile.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a 12-member commission that studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and cont...more Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

Tyson's professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way. Tyson obtains his data from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as from telescopes in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and in the Andes Mountains of Chile.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a 12-member commission that studied the Future of the US Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a 9-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the Moon, Mars, and Beyond commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which will help guide NASA through its perennial need to fit its ambitious vision into its restricted budget.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. He is a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson's eight books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA 4-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson serves as on-camera host. The program premiered on September 28 and 29, 2004. And beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appears as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA's spinoff program NOVA ScienceNow, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

Tyson's latest two books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto's planetary status.

Tyson is the recipient of nine honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid 13123 Tyson. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive by People Magazine in 2000.

Tyson is the first occupant of the Frederick P. Rose Directorship of the Hayden Planetarium. Tyson lives in New York City with his wife and two children.(less)

17 posts
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Blog

Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

Time's 10 Questions, June 26, 2008

Time Magazine's 10 Questions from Time Magazine's readers.

Read the interview... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on July 27, 2009 22:38 • 303 views

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Neil deGrasse Tyson's Books

Average rating: 4.04 · 10,456 ratings · 1,030 reviews · 13 distinct works · Similar authors

	Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 5,866 ratings — published 2006 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Avis Lang (Editor) 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 1,672 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet 3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 1,725 ratings — published 2008 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Donald Goldsmith 4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 684 ratings — published 2004 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 275 ratings — published 2000 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Merlin's Tour of the Universe 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 77 ratings — published 1989 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Charles Liu 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 1999	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Favorite Universe 4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2003	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Universe Down to Earth 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1994 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Just Visiting This Planet by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Tyson (Illustrator) 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1998 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

tags: belief, science, true

583 people liked it

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

tags: astronomy, cosmology

396 people liked it

“The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

- Neil deGrasse Tyson's response on Reddit when asked "What can you tell a young man looking for motivation in life itself?"

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments...”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

tags: love, meaning, motivation, neil-degrasse, science, successful-people

256 people liked it

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Neil deGrasse Tyson

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17 posts
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Blog

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Neil deGrasse Tyson's Books

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Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Neil's Fans (775)

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Author profile

17 postsNeil deGrasse Tyson's Blog

combine editionsNeil deGrasse Tyson's Books

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

17 posts
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Blog

combine editions
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Books