Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, science communicator, and author, born on October 5, 1958, in New York City, New York. He is widely known for his ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging to the general public.

Tyson's academic background includes a degree in physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia University. His scientific expertise is primarily in the field of astrophysics, where he has contributed to the study of star formation, galaxies, and cosmology.

In addition to his work as a scientist, Neil deGrasse Tyson is a prolific science communicator, having appeared on numerous television shows and documentaries. He became particularly famous for hosting the reboot of "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" (2014), a 13-episode series that explores the universe, its origins, and the scientific discoveries that have shaped our understanding of space and time. This show was a follow-up to Carl Sagan's groundbreaking "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage" from 1980.

Some of Tyson's most notable contributions and roles include:

  • Director of the Hayden Planetarium: He has served as the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York since 1996, where he has continued to promote scientific literacy and education.

  • "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" (2017): One of his best-selling books, this work offers concise explanations of the wonders of the universe and makes complex astrophysical topics accessible to a broad audience.

  • "The Pluto Controversy": Tyson is known for his outspoken views on the demotion of Pluto from planet status, which became a widely debated topic in the scientific community, especially due to his role in the decision-making process as part of the International Astronomical Union.

  • "The Cosmic Queries": Tyson has hosted a podcast called "StarTalk", where he discusses space, science, and popular culture with guests from various fields, further bringing science into the mainstream.

Neil deGrasse Tyson has also written several other books, including "Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries" (2007) and "The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet" (2009).

Beyond his professional achievements, Tyson is known for his charismatic presence and social media activity, where he engages with millions of followers and advocates for scientific thinking, space exploration, and the importance of education. He is often seen as one of the most influential scientists in public outreach today.

Articles by the author

Most religious people in America fully embrace science. So the argument that religion has some issue with science applies to a small fraction of those who declare that they are religious. They just happen to be a very vocal fraction, so you got the impression that there are more of them than there actually is.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Typically, when you look for role models, you want someone who has your interests and came from the same background. Well, look how restricting that is. What people should do is take role models a la carte. If there's someone whose character you appreciated, you respect that trait.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Asteroids have us in our sight. The dinosaurs didn't have a space program, so they're not here to talk about this problem. We are, and we have the power to do something about it. I don't want to be the embarrassment of the galaxy, to have had the power to deflect an asteroid, and then not, and end up going extinct.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

There is no science in this world like physics. Nothing comes close to the precision with which physics enables you to understand the world around you. It's the laws of physics that allow us to say exactly what time the sun is going to rise. What time the eclipse is going to begin. What time the eclipse is going to end.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Science literacy is the artery through which the solutions of tomorrow's problems flow.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

If God is the mystery of the universe, these mysteries, we're tackling these mysteries one by one. If you're going to stay religious at the end of the conversation, God has to mean more to you than just where science has yet to tread.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Science is basically an inoculation against charlatans.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

I like to believe that science is becoming mainstream. It should have never been something that sort of geeky people do and no one else thinks about. Whether or not, it will always be what geeky people do. It should, as a minimum, be what everybody thinks about because science is all around us.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Once you have an innovation culture, even those who are not scientists or engineers - poets, actors, journalists - they, as communities, embrace the meaning of what it is to be scientifically literate. They embrace the concept of an innovation culture. They vote in ways that promote it. They don't fight science and they don't fight technology.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

As a citizen, as a public scientist, I can tell you that Einstein essentially overturned a so strongly established paradigm of science, whereas Darwin didn't really overturn a science paradigm.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, investments in science and technology have proved to be reliable engines of economic growth. If homegrown interest in those fields is not regenerated soon, the comfortable lifestyle to which Americans have become accustomed will draw to a rapid close.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

In science, if you don't do it, somebody else will. Whereas in art, if Beethoven didn't compose the 'Ninth Symphony,' no one else before or after is going to compose the 'Ninth Symphony' that he composed; no one else is going to paint 'Starry Night' by van Gogh.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

I can't tell you how many people say they were turned off from science because of a science teacher that completely sucked out all the inspiration and enthusiasm they had for the course.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

The methods and tools of science perennially breach barriers, granting me confidence that our epic march of insight into the operations of nature will continue without end.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

As history has shown, pure science research ultimately ends up applying to something. We just don't know it at the time.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

In nature, when you conduct science, it is the natural world that is the ultimate decider in what is true and what is not.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Space exploration is a force of nature unto itself that no other force in society can rival.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Philosophically, the universe has really never made things in ones. The Earth is special and everything else is different? No, we've got seven other planets. The sun? No, the sun is one of those dots in the night sky. The Milky Way? No, it's one of a hundred billion galaxies. And the universe - maybe it's countless other universes.

Neil deGrasse Tyson

There are thousands of asteroids whose orbit in the Solar System crosses that of Earth. And we have a little acronym for them - NEOs: near Earth objects. And our biggest goal is to try to catalogue them, so we know in advance if one is going to put us at risk.

Neil deGrasse Tyson