The Day Neil deGrasse Tyson Got a Call From the Universe
Posted by NOVAscienceNOW_Motherboard on Wednesday, Apr 28, 2010
Don’t forget to vote for Secret Life of Scientists for the Best Documentary Series Webby. Do it for Neil.
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s job is to get people excited about science. Tyson, astrophysicist and host of PBS’s NOVA scienceNOW, is all over the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and Motherboard, sharing his love of the universe with others. But what got Neil so excited?
Growing up in New York City, Neil didn’t get to see much of the night sky — it’s lost in the 24-hour glow of neon signs and skyscrapers. When he was nine, his parents took him to the Hayden Planetarium at the Natural History Museum. When the lights dimmed and the voice-over thundered “We Are Now in the Universe,” the experience hit Neil like an asteroid. It was as if the universe was calling him. And after walking dogs every day to save up for a telescope, he has been answering ever since.
Fast forward to now, and Neil is the Director of the Hayden Planetarium, and still just as crazy about the universe. He is so crazy about it, in fact, that he wears it. As Secret Life of Scientists found out, Neil is a cosmic tie collector (see the video here). His ties reflect his love of the universe, and plus, if you drop spaghetti sauce on there, it just looks like another planet. Let’s just hope he can fit some laundry time into his busy schedule.
See more Secret Life of Scientists on Motherboard — or head over to PBS for more. One can never get enough Neil deGrasse Tyson.
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A web series by NOVA scienceNOW, SLoS peels back the lab coats to zoom in on scientists' hidden passions .
