HYBRID – General Meeting – February 2023

6:30 pm – Main Presentation

TITLE:  Comets; History, Science, and Magic—A Personal Journey

PRESENTATION:  David Levy, one of the most enthusiastic and famous amateur astronomers of our time, will talk about some of the great comets in Earth’s history. These frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system, composed of dust, rock, and ice, hold rich scientific information, making each encounter a much-studied event. Share an expert comet-hunter’s knowledge in this presentation featuring such comets as Halley, those of 1811, 1965, 1970, 1976, and the most famous of David’s many comet discoveries, the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994.

BIO:  David Levy is world-renowned for his comet-hunting expertise. A past president of TAAA, he’s authored over three dozen books, written for three astronomy magazines, and appeared on television programs featured on the Discovery and the Science Channels. Among his accomplishments are 23 comet discoveries, a few hundred shared asteroid discoveries, an Emmy for the documentary Three Minutes to Impact, five honorary doctorates in Science and a PhD which combines astronomy and English Literature. Currently, he has a monthly column, Skyward, jointly published in the Vail Voice community newspaper and the TAAA Desert Skies Bulletin. David continues to lecture worldwide, and hunt for comets and asteroids.