David H. Levy
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David H. Levy (born 1948) is a Canadian astronomer and science writer most famous for his co-discovery in 1993 of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which collided with the planet Jupiter in 1994.
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[edit] Biography
Levy was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 22, 1948. He developed an interest of astronomy at an early age in his life. However, he pursued and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature.[1]
Levy has discovered 22 comets, either independently or with Gene and Carolyn S. Shoemaker. He has written over 30 books, mostly on astronomical subjects such as The Quest for Comets and his tribute to Shoemaker in Shoemaker by Levy.[2] Also, he has provided periodic articles for the magazines Sky and Telescope and Parade Magazine.[3]
Periodic comets that Levy co-discovered include P/2006T1, 118P/Shoemaker-Levy, 129P/Shoemaker-Levy, 135P/Shoemaker-Levy, 137P/Shoemaker-Levy, 138P/Shoemaker-Levy, 145P/Shoemaker-Levy, and 181P/Shoemaker-Levy.
He now lives in Vail, Arizona and is married to Wendee Levy.[4] Levy and his wife host a weekly radio talk show on the internet on astronomy.[5]
[edit] Awards
The asteroid 3673 Levy was named in his honour. Levy was awarded the C.A. Chant Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 1980. 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.
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Preceded by Richard D. Lines & Helen Lines |
Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1993 |
Succeeded by Walter H. Haas |