Duncan I. Steel is a British

space scientist The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science: Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies In common usage ...

. He has discovered several

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

s and has written four

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

books. He is a member of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

, which lists him as working at the Xerra Earth Observation Institute in Nelson, in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

of New Zealand. He was formerly on the staff of the University of Salford in the United Kingdom. According to

Scopus Scopus is Elsevier's abstract and citation database launched in 2004. Scopus covers nearly 36,377 titles (22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles) from approximately 11,678 publishers, of which 34,346 are peer-reviewed journals in top-l ...

, Steel has an ''h''-index of 13. Between 1990 and 1994 he discovered twelve numbered minor planets. The asteroid

4713 Steel 4713 Steel, provisional designation , is a rare-type Hungaria asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 August 1989, by Scottish–Australian astronomer Robert McNaught ...

, discovered by

Robert McNaught Robert H. McNaught (born in Scotland in 1956) is a Scottish-Australian astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University (ANU). He has collaborated with David J. Asher of the Armagh Observato ...

in 1989, is named after him. In August 2022 Steel pleaded guilty to

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

and breaching the New Zealand

Harmful Digital Communications Act The Harmful Digital Communications Act is a New Zealand law that regulates the occurrences and impacts of issues such as online bullying, harassment, revenge porn, and other forms of digital abuse and intimidation. Netsafe is the agency approv ...

. He was sentenced to 12 months'

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

and ordered to pay $3000 in reparation for emotional harm.

Books

* ''Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets: The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth'' (Wiley, New York, 1995) (with a foreword by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

).
''Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon Which Changed the Course of History''
(The Joseph Henry Press, Washington D.C., 2001) (with a foreword by Paul Davies). * ''Target Earth'' (Time Life 2000; Reader's Digest 2001) (with an afterword by

) * ''Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar'' (Wiley, New York, 2000). * ''Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History'' (National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2001) (with a foreword by Paul Davies).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, Duncan 20th-century British astronomers 21st-century British astronomers Academics of the University of Salford Discoverers of asteroids * Living people Year of birth missing (living people)