David H. Levy

David H. Levy is one of the most successful comet discoverers in history. He has discovered 23 comets, eight of them using his own backyard telescopes. With Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California he discovered Shoemaker-Levy 9, the comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994. That episode produced the most spectacular explosions ever witnessed in the solar system. Levy is currently involved with the Jarnac Comet Survey, which is based at the Jarnac Observatory in Vail, Arizona but which has telescopes planned for locations around the world. His most recent discovery, Comet Jarnac (P/2010 E2) was part of this survey. Levy is the author or editor of about 36 books and other products. He won an Emmy in 1998 as part of the writing team for the Discovery Channel documentary, “Three Minutes to Impact.” As the Science Editor for Parade Magazine, he is able to reach more than 78 million readers, almost a quarter of the population of the United States. A contributing editor for Sky and Telescope Magazine, he writes its monthly “Star Trails” column, and his “Nightfall” feature appears in each issue of the Canadian Magazine Skynews. David Levy has given over a thousand lectures and major interviews, and has appeared on many television programs, such as the Today show (4 times), Good Morning America (twice), the National Geographic special “Asteroids: Deadly Impact”, and ABC's World News Tonight, where he and the Shoemakers were named Persons of the Week for July 22, 1994. Also, Levy has done nationally broadcast testimonials for PBS (1995-present), and for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon (1998-1999). He and his wife Wendee host a weekly radio show available worldwide at www.letstalkstars.com. In 2004 he was the Senator John Rhodes Chair in Public Policy and American Institutions at Arizona State University. He has been awarded four honorary doctorates, and asteroid 3673 (Levy) was named in his honor. On June 6, 2010 he completed his formal education and was awarded a Ph.D. Degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Levy resides in Vail, Arizona, with his wife, Wendee.