Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born on October 5th, 1958 and is currently 67 years old. Neil deGrasse Tyson was born in New York, New York, USA. Tyson attended Harvard University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Texas at Austin where he received a Master of Arts degree and Columbia University where he received an MPhil and a PhD.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is known for writing in the Non-Fiction genre.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an author, astrophysicist, and science communicator.

During his teen years, he obsessively studied astronomy; eventually he gained some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of 15.

Carl Sagan even tried recruiting Neil for undergrad studies at Cornell. Carl invited Neil to spend a day in Ithaca, even offered to put him up for the night should Neil’s bus not come.

From 1991 until 1994, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University.

He joined the Hayden Planetarium in 1994 as a staff scientist and the Princeton faculty as a visiting research scientist and lecturer. In 1996, he became director of the planetarium, and oversaw its $210 million reconstruction project, which was completed in 2000.

Starting in 1996, he has been the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. It’s part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Neil founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department starting in 2003.

From 1995 to 2005, he penned monthly essays in the “Universe” column for Natural History magazine, a number of which were published in Death by Black Hole and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Under the pen name of Merlin, he wrote a column in Stardate, where he answered questions about the universe. These would appear in his books Merlin’s Tour of the Universe and Just Visiting This Planet.

His research has been focused on observations in stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, cosmology, stellar formation, and galactic bulges.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry asks and answers what is the nature of space and time? How do we fit in the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There is no better guide through such mind expanding questions that you could have than Neil deGrasse Tyson.

However today, very few of us have the time to even contemplate the cosmos. So Neil brings the universe down to Earth clearly and succinctly, with sparkling wit, in some digestible chapters that are consumable anywhere and anytime in your busy day.

As you wait for your morning coffee to brew, or as you wait for the bus, the plane, or train to arrive, this will reveal exactly what you need to be fluent and prepared for the next cosmic headlines. From black holes to the big bang, from quantum mechanics to quarks, and from the search for life in the universe to the search for other planets.

The essential universe, from our most beloved and celebrated astrophysicist.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Awards & Accolades

Tyson's book, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry won the Goodreads Awards, Best Science and Technology, in 2017.

Neil deGrasse Tyson books have also been nominated for multiple awards, The Pluto Files was nominated for the Alex Awards, Best Book, in 2010. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry was nominated for the Audie Award, Best Narration by the Author, in 2018. Accessory to War was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Science and Technology, in 2018. Starry Messenger was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Nonfiction, in 2022.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Lists & Other Mentions

• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2018.
  2. New York Times: #1 Nonfiction Best Seller in 2017.
  3. Reader's Digest: 50 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time Selection in 2024.

Related Authors

Fans of Neil deGrasse Tyson also enjoy these authors:

1. Rebecca Skloot, author of: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
2. Randall Munroe, author of: What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.
3. Carl Sagan, author of: Contact.
4. Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation Series.
5. Arthur C. Clarke, author of the Space Odyssey Series.
6. David McCullough, author of: 1776.
7. Yuval Noah Harari, author of the A Brief History Series.
8. Mary Roach, author of the Mary Roach Medical Books.
9. David Brin, author of the Uplift Saga Series.
10. Stephen Hawking, author of: A Brief History of Time.

Neil deGrasse Tyson: F.A.Q