David Howard Levy (born May 22, 1948) is a Canadian amateur
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
, science writer and discoverer of
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
s and
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 ''mino ...
s, who co-discovered
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a ...
in 1993, which collided with the planet
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
in 1994.
Biography
Levy was born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, 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.
Levy went on to discover 23
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
s, either independently or with
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
and
Carolyn Shoemaker
Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (June 24, 1929 – August 13, 2021) was an American astronomer and a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She discovered 32 comets (then a record for the most by an individual) and more than 500 astero ...
. He has written 34 books, mostly on astronomical subjects, such as ''The Quest for Comets'', a biography of
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
-discoverer
Clyde Tombaugh
Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906 January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer. He discovered Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper belt. At the time of discovery, Pluto was cons ...
in 2006, and his tribute to Gene Shoemaker in ''Shoemaker by Levy''. He has provided periodic articles for ''
Sky and Telescope
''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following:
*current events in astronomy and space exploration;
*events in the amateur astronomy community;
*reviews of astronomic ...
Astronomy Magazine
''Astronomy'' is a monthly United States, American magazine about astronomy. Targeting amateur astronomy, amateur astronomers, it contains columns on sky viewing, reader-submitted astrophotography, astrophotographs, and articles on astronomy and ...
129P/Shoemaker–Levy
129P/Shoemaker–Levy, also known as Shoemaker–Levy 3, is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It fits the definition of an Encke-type comet with ( TJupiter > 3; a < aJupiter), and is a 138P/Shoemaker–Levy, 145P/Shoemaker–Levy, and 181P/Shoemaker–Levy. In addition, Levy is the sole discoverer of two periodic comets:
255P/Levy
255P/Levy, formerly P/2006 T1 and P/2011 Y1, is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 5.25 years. It last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 14 January 2012. During the 2006 passage the comet achieved an apparent magnitude o ...
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.
He lives in
Vail, Arizona
Vail is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson. The population was 10,208 at the 2010 census, up from 2484 in the 2000 census. The area is known for the nearby Colossal Cave, a large ...
and is married to Wendee Levy. 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. Levy is President of the National Sharing the Sky Foundation and a Master of Astronomy with DeTao Masters Academy (DTMA).
Levy's autobiography, "A Nightwatchman's journey: the Road Not Taken" was published in June 2019 by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Awards
The main-asteroid
3673 Levy
3673 Levy, provisional designation , is a binary Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 August 1985, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Me ...
was named in his honour. Levy was awarded the C.A. Chant Medal of the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, ...
Edgar Wilson Award
__NOTOC__
The Edgar Wilson Award is an annual international award established in 1998 consisting of a monetary award and a plaque allocated annually to amateur comet discoverers. It is administered by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) ...
for the discovery of comets. In 2008, a special edition telescope, "The Comet Hunter" was co-designed by Levy.
Together with Martyn Ives, David Taylor, and
Benjamin Woolley
Benjamin Woolley is an author, media journalist and television presenter. In 2018, he published ''The King's Assassin'.''
Biography
Woolley studied Philosophy & Politics at Durham University, graduating in 1979. Woolley currently teaches Engli ...
, Levy won a 1998
News & Documentary Emmy Award
The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or News & Documentary Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...
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.
Discoveries
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
255P/Levy, formerly P/2006 T1 and P/2011 Y1, is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 5.25 years. It last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 14 January 2012. During the 2006 passage the comet achieved an apparent magnitude o ...
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 ( formally designated D/1993 F2) broke apart in July 1992 and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. This generated a ...
* 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
Henry E. Holt (27 September 1929 - 5 May 2019) was an American astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets and comets, who has worked as a planetary geologist at the United States Geological Survey and Northern Arizona University.
Car ...
, June 1990
* Established the cataclysmically recurring nature of 1215-17
TV Corvi
TV Corvi, also known as Tombaugh's Star, is a dwarf nova of the SU Ursae Majoris type in the constellation Corvus that was first discovered by accident as a mysterious 12th magnitude star on a plate by Clyde Tombaugh while looking for re ...
(Tombaugh's Star), August 1990
Minor planets
See also
*
Carolyn S. Shoemaker
Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (June 24, 1929 – August 13, 2021) was an American astronomer and a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She discovered 32 comets (then a record for the most by an individual) and more than 500 astero ...
*
Eugene Merle Shoemaker
Eugene Merle Shoemaker (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997) was an American geologist. He co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994: the impact was televise ...
*
List of minor planet discoverers
This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 num ...