David H. Levy

David H. Levy
David Levy giving a lecture at JPL.
Born (1948-05-22) May 22, 1948
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Residence Vail, Arizona, U.S.
Nationality Canadian
Alma mater Acadia (Nova Scotia) University (B.A.); Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario) (M.A.); Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Ph.D.)
Known for co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Spouse(s) Wendee Esther Wallach-Levy
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy

David H. Levy (born May 22, 1948) is a Canadian astronomer, science writer and discoverer of comets and minor planets, who co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1993, which collided with the planet Jupiter in 1994.

Biography

Levy was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1948. He developed an interest in astronomy at an early age. However, he pursued and received bachelor's and master's degrees in English literature.[1]

Levy went on to discover 22 comets, either independently or with Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker. He has written 34 books, mostly on astronomical subjects, such as The Quest for Comets, a biography of Pluto-discoverer Clyde Tombaugh in 2006, and his tribute to Gene Shoemaker in Shoemaker by Levy. He has provided periodic articles for Sky and Telescope magazine,[1] as well as Parade Magazine, Sky News and, most recently, Astronomy Magazine.

Periodic comets that Levy co-discovered include 118P/Shoemaker–Levy, 129P/Shoemaker–Levy, 135P/Shoemaker–Levy, 137P/Shoemaker–Levy, 138P/Shoemaker–Levy, 145P/Shoemaker–Levy, and 181P/Shoemaker–Levy. In addition, Levy is the sole discoverer of two periodic comets: 255P/Levy and P/1991 L3.

On February 28, 2010, Levy was awarded a Ph. D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his successful completion of his thesis "The Sky in Early Modern English Literature: A Study of Allusions to Celestial Events in Elizabethan and Jacobean Writing, 1572–1620."

Starting in 2015, Levy has been donating his observing logs, which he has kept continuously since 1956, his personal journals since 1958, and his comet search records since 1965, to the Linda Hall Library of Science Library in Kansas City. The observing records are also on-line at the website of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.[2]

He lives in Vail, Arizona and is married to Wendee Levy.[3] Levy and his wife hosted a weekly internet radio talk show on astronomy, which ended on February 3, 2011, with a planned "Final Show". Show archives are available in WMA and MP3 formats.[4] Levy is President of the National Sharing the Sky Foundation[5] and a Master of Astronomy with DeTao Masters Academy (DTMA).

Awards

The main-asteroid 3673 Levy was named in his honour.[6] Levy was awarded the C.A. Chant Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 1980. Levy was recipient of the 1990 G. Bruce Blair Medal.[7] In 1993 he won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. In 2007, Levy received the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Edgar Wilson Award for the discovery of comets. In 2008, a special edition telescope, "The Comet Hunter" was co-designed by Levy.[8]

Together with Martyn Ives, David Taylor, and Benjamin Woolley, Levy won a 1998 News & Documentary Emmy Award in the "Individual Achievement in a Craft, Writer" category for the script of the documentary 3 Minutes to Impact produced by York Films for the Discovery Channel.[9][10][11]

Discoveries

Minor planets discovered: 61 [12]
see § List of discovered minor planets

Comets

Visual
  • Comet Levy-Rudenko, 1984t, C/1984 V1, Nov 14, 1984
  • Comet Levy, 1987a, C/1987 A1, January 5, 1987
  • Comet Levy, 1987y, C/1987 T1, October 11, 1987
  • Comet Levy, 1988e, C/1988 F1, March 19, 1988
  • Comet Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko, 1989r, C/1989 Q1, August 25, 1989
  • Comet Levy, 1990c, C/1990 K1, May 20, 1990
  • Periodic Comet Levy, P/1991 L3, June 14, 1991
  • Comet Takamizawa-Levy, C/1994 G1, April 15, 1994
  • Periodic Comet 255P/Levy, October 2, 2006
Photographic, as part of team of Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1, 1990o, P/1990 V1
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 2, 1990p, 137 P/1990 UL3
  • Comet Shoemaker-Levy, 1991d C/1991 B1
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3, 1991e, 129P/1991 C1
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 4, 1991f, 118P/1991 C2
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 5, 1991z, 145P/1991 T1
  • Comet Shoemaker-Levy, 1991a1, C/1991 T2
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 6, 1991b1, P/1991 V1
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 7, 1991d1, 138P/1991 V2
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 8, 1992f, 135P/1992 G2
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, 1993e, D/1993 F2[lower-alpha 1]
  • Comet Shoemaker-Levy, 1993h, C/1993 K1
  • Comet Shoemaker-Levy, 1994d C/1994 E2
  • Comet Jarnac, P/2010 E2 (David Levy, Wendee Levy, Tom Glinos)

List of discovered minor planets

5261 Eureka20 June 1990list [A]
5852 Nanette19 April 1991list [B]
6398 Timhunter10 February 1991list [B][C]
6401 Roentgen15 April 1991list [B][C]
6485 Wendeesther25 October 1990list [B][C]
6670 Wallach4 June 1994list [B]
6715 Sheldonmarks22 August 1990list [A]
6914 Becquerel3 April 1992list [B][A]
7344 Summerfield4 June 1992list [B]
8021 Walter22 October 1990list [B]
8358 Rickblakley4 November 1989list [B]
9070 Ensab23 July 1993list [B]
9083 Ramboehm28 November 1994list [B]
10332 Défi13 May 1991list [B]
10346 Triathlon2 April 1992list [B]
11548 Jerrylewis25 November 1992list [B]
11569 Virgilsmith27 May 1993list [B]
11911 Angel4 June 1992list [B]
11941 Archinal23 May 1993list [B]
13057 Jorgensen13 November 1990list [B]
13111 Papacosmas23 July 1993list [B]
13123 Tyson16 May 1994list [B]
13615 Manulis28 November 1994list [B]
14429 Coyne3 December 1991list [B]
15276 Diebel14 April 1991list [B]
15294 Underwood7 November 1991list [B]
15321 Donnadean13 August 1993list [B]
15779 Scottroberts26 July 1993list [B]
16514 Stevelia11 November 1990list [B]
16669 Rionuevo8 December 1993list [B]
17493 Wildcat31 December 1991list [B]
18368 Flandrau15 April 1991list [B]
18434 Mikesandras12 March 1994list [B]
19980 Barrysimon22 November 1989list [B]
20084 Buckmaster6 April 1994list [B]
22312 Kelly14 April 1991list [B]
22338 Janemojo3 June 1992list [B]
24778 Nemsu24 May 1993list [B]
24779 Presque Isle23 July 1993list [B]
27776 Cortland25 February 1992list [B]
27810 Daveturner23 July 1993list [B]
29292 Conniewalker24 May 1993list [B]
30840 Jackalice15 April 1991list [B]
30934 Bakerhansen16 November 1993list [B]
30935 Davasobel8 January 1994list [B]
32890 Schwob8 January 1994list [B]
32897 Curtharris1 August 1994list [B]
37588 Lynnecox15 April 1991list [B]
37601 Vicjen3 April 1992list [B]
43793 Mackey13 November 1990list [B]
117032 Davidlane14 May 2004list [D][E]
144769 Zachariassen19 April 2004list [D]
144907 Whitehorne16 December 2004list [D][E]
157421 Carolpercy8 October 2004list [D][E]
170909 Bobmasterson12 December 2004list [D]
170995 Ritajoewright3 March 2005list [D]
175152 Marthafarkas3 March 2005list [D]
245158 Thomasandrews13 October 2004list [D]
271763 Hebrewu17 September 2004list [D]
294727 Dennisritchie31 January 2008list [D]
300909 Kenthompson30 January 2008list [D]
Co-discovery made with:
A H. E. Holt
B C. S. Shoemaker
C E. M. Shoemaker
D T. Glinos
E W. Levy

Other

  • Nova Cygni 1975, August 30, 1975 (independent discovery)
  • Nova Cygni 1978, September 12, 1978 (independent discovery)
  • Comet Hartley-IRAS (P/1983 V1), November 30, 1983 (independent discovery)
  • Comet Shoemaker 1992y, C/1992 U1 (aided in discovery)
  • Periodic Comet Shoemaker 4, 1994k, P/1994 J3 (aided in discovery)
  • Asteroid (5261) Eureka, the first Martian Trojan asteroid, with Henry E. Holt, June 1990
  • Established the cataclysmically recurring nature of 1215-17 TV Corvi (Tombaugh's Star), August 1990[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ This comet crashed into Jupiter in 1994, resulting in the most dramatic events ever seen on another world
  1. 1 2 Editors, The (1948-05-22). "David H. Levy | Canadian astronomer and science writer". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  2. ↑ "David H. Levy Logbooks | RASC". www.rasc.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  3. ↑ "Welcome". Jarnac.org. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  4. ↑ "Let's Talk Stars". Letstalkstars.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  5. ↑ "Home". Sharingthesky.org. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  6. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3673) Levy. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 309. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "G. BRUCE BLAIR AWARD Recipients". Western Amateur Astronomers. Western Amateur Astronomers. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "The David H. Levy Comet Hunter". Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  9. ↑ International Documentary Association (1998). International documentary: the newsletter of the International Documentary Association. 17. International Documentary Association. p. 59.
  10. ↑ "York Films Of England". Yorkfilms.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  11. ↑ "York Films Of England". Yorkfilms.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  12. ↑ "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Levy, David H.; Howell, Steve B.; Kreidl, Tobias J.; Skiff, Brian A.; Tombaugh, Clyde W. (1990). "The historical discovery and recent confirmation of a new cataclysmic variable in Corvus". Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 102: 1321. Bibcode:1990PASP..102.1321L. doi:10.1086/132767.
Preceded by
Richard D. Lines & Helen Lines		 Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific
1993		 Succeeded by
Walter H. Haas
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