Neil DeGrasse Tyson (born Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.
In the period 2006-2011. hosted the educational TV show "NOVA scienceNOW". He is a frequent guest of various TV shows and other events.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Neil Tyson, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Neil Tyson biography
Neil Tyson was born on October 5, 1958 in New York. He grew up in the family of a sociologist and head of the personnel department Cyril Tyson and his wife Sanchita Feliciano, who worked as a gerontologist. He was the second of 3 children of his parents.
Childhood and youth
From 1972 to 1976, Neil attended a scientific school. An interesting fact is that at this time of his biography, he headed the wrestling team, and was also the editor-in-chief of the school Physical Science Journal.
Tyson was fond of astronomy since childhood, studying various scientific works in this area. Over time, he gained some popularity in the society of astronomers. In this regard, the 15-year-old boy gave lectures to a large audience.
According to the astrophysicist, he became interested in astronomy when he looked at the moon through binoculars from the top floor of the house. The fascination with science intensified even more after visiting the Hayden Planetarium.
Later, an astronomer named Carl Sagan, who worked at Cornell University, offered Neil Tyson to get an appropriate education. As a result, the guy decided to go to Harvard, where he majored in physics.
Here Neil did rowing for a while, but then began to go to wrestling again. Shortly before graduation, he received a sports category.
In 1980, Neil DeGrasse Tyson became a bachelor of physics. After that, he began writing his thesis at the University of Texas, from which he received a master's degree in astronomy (1983). An interesting fact is that in addition to sports, the astrophysicist studied various dances, including ballet.
At the age of 27, Neil took 1st place in the national tournament, in the style of International Latin Dance. In 1988 he took a job at Columbia University, where he received his doctorate in astrophysics 3 years later. Concurrently, he participated in the NASA Knowledge Sharing Academy.
Career
In the 90s, Neil Tyson published many articles in scientific journals, and also published several popular science books. As a rule, he focused on astronomy.
In 1995, the man began writing the "Universe" column in the Journal of Natural History. Curiously, in 2002 he introduced the concept of "Manhattanhenge" to describe 2 days a year when the sun sets in the same direction as the streets in Manhattan. This gives local residents the opportunity to enjoy the sunset if they watch along the street.
In 2001, George W. Bush appointed Tyson to the Commission on the Development of the US Aerospace Industry, and three years later - to the Presidential Commission on Space Exploration. During this biography, he was awarded the prestigious NASA Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
In 2004, Neil DeGrasse Tyson conducted 4 parts of the television series Origins, releasing a book based on the series, Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution. He also took part in the creation of the documentary film "400 Years of the Telescope".
By that time, the scientist was already in charge of Hayden's planetarium. He was opposed to considering Pluto as the 9th planet in the solar system. This was due to the fact that, in his opinion, Pluto did not correspond to a number of characteristics that should be inherent in the planet.
Such statements caused a storm of discontent among many Americans, especially children. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union confirmed this estimate, after which Pluto was officially recognized as a dwarf planet.
Tyson later became chairman of the board of the Planetary Society. In the period 2006-2011. he hosted the educational program “NOVA scienceNOW”.
Neal is critical of string theory because of its many dark spots. In 2007, the charismatic astrophysicist was chosen to host the science series Universe, aired on the History Channel.
4 years later, Tyson was offered to host the documentary television series "Space: Space and Time". In parallel with this, he attended many different programs, where he shared interesting facts from his biography, and also explained the complex mechanisms of the Universe in simple words.
As a rule, on many programs, viewers ask Neal various questions, to which he always expertly answers, using humor and facial expressions. Not so long ago, the physicist starred in the role of himself in the series Stargate Atlantis, The Big Bang Theory and Batman v Superman.
Personal life
Neil Tyson is married to a girl named Alice Young. In this marriage, the couple had two children - Miranda and Travis. Interestingly, the couple named their first child Miranda after the smallest of the 5 large moons of Uranus.
The man is a great wine lover. Moreover, he has his own wine collection, which he showed to reporters. Many call Tyson an atheist, but this is not so.
Neal has repeatedly said that he considers himself an agnostic. In one of the interviews, he admitted that during the propaganda of their ideas, atheists like to say as an argument that, for example, 85% of scientists do not believe in the existence of God. However, Neil prefers to think more broadly.
Tyson explained that he is looking at such a statement from the opposite side. That is, he first of all asks the question: "Why do 15% of authoritative scientists believe in God?" They have the same knowledge as their non-believing colleagues, but at the same time they have their own well-grounded point of view on the structure of the universe.
Neil Tyson today
In 2018, Neil became an honorary doctorate from Yale University. He still appears frequently at various events and television programs. He has an official page on Instagram. By 2020, more than 1.2 million people have subscribed to it.
Photo by Neil Tyson
