David levy astronomer biography

Home / Scientists & Inventors / David levy astronomer biography

He is the author or editor of 35 books and products, has served as the science editor for Parade magazine, and has written for most of the popular astronomy magazines in existence, including Sky & Telescope and Deep Sky. David also won an Emmy for his 1998 participation on the writing team for the Discovery Channel documentary Three Minutes to Impact.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1972 from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and his master’s degree in 1979 from the University of Queen’s in Kingston, Ontario. in philosophy from Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Author: David H. Levy

David H. Levy is a world-renowned Canadian astronomer most noted for discovering 22 comets over his long career, including the co-discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which broke apart and slammed into Jupiter in 1994.

He and his wife Wendee host a weekly radio show available worldwide at www.letstalkstars.com. He made his first visual comet discovery in 1984 after 19 years of fruitless searching. He edited Montreal's newsletter, Skyward, spoke at meetings of Halifax Centre while he was a member there, and designed and gave a 12-week course for the benefit of Kingston Centre.

As Secretary-Treasurer of the National Sharing the Sky Foundation, Wendee plays a vital role in its activities.
– From David’s website.

David Howard Levy (1948- )

Davy Howard Levy was born in 1948 at Montréal, Quebec. That episode produced the most spectacular explosions ever witnessed in the solar system.

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 from 1997 to 2006, he was able to reach more than 80 million readers, almost a quarter of the population of the United States. In 2004 he was the Senator John Rhodes Chair in Public Policy and American Institutions at Arizona State University.

He has been awarded five honorary doctorates, and asteroid 3673 (Levy) was named in his honor.

david levy astronomer biography

He lives with his wife Wendee in Vail, Arizona, where they operate the Jarnac Observatory, surveying the sky for comets and promoting astronomical education.

Scroll toTop

(1948-) Possibly the RASC's most famous member and most active observer. He has given more than 1,000 lectures and popular astronomy talks, and has appeared on a wide variety of television programs to promote astronomy, including The Today Show, ABC’s World News Tonight, and Good Morning America.

Starting in 1965, he was a keen but unsuccessful searcher of novas and comets, and a diligent observer of meteors, Messier objects and variable stars. A User's Guide, some topical observing guides and recent biographies of Clyde Tombaugh and Bart Bok.

In search of darker skies and a better climate, Levy moved to Arizona in 1980.

By the end of the 1980’s, he was the most prolific observer in the American Association of Variable Star Observers with more than 10,000 observations per year for meteors, variable stars and Messier objects.

Always looking for a better climate and a darker sky, he moved to Arizona in 1980 where he still lives today.

Wendee is an integral part of our Jarnac Comet Survey, helping to organize the program and scan the images. In 1984, after 19 years of fruitless searching, he discovered his first comet. He is currently writing his doctoral degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, still on the subject of English literature.

Levy’s interest in astronomy began during a partial eclipse of the Sun in 1959 at the age of 11.

Also, Levy has done nationally broadcast testimonials for PBS (1995-present), and for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon (1998-1999). He now has seven comets to his credit and eleven more shared with the Shoemakers as an Observer for the Palomar Asteroid and Comet Survey.