David Levy

Most people involved in amateur astronomy will instant recognize the name of David Levy. Levy was a childhood hero of mine, and is most famous for being a discoverer or co-discoverer of 22 comets. He has also discovered 41 asteroids (the full list is on Wikipedia). His most famous achievement was Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, the comet that split into numerous pieces and pounded the planet Jupiter in 1994. I vividly remember following these impacts via TV news and the astronomy magazines as a 12-year old kid. It was an exciting time to be interested in astronomy (but isn't it always?).

Most amateurs would be thrilled to discover even a single comet, a feat becoming harder and harder thanks to the automated sky surveys coming increasingly online like NEAT. It's not an exaggeration to call Levy a living legend. Working with his wife Wendee from Arizona, he is still tremendously involved in amateur astronomy and outreach. He has a weekly radio show, as well as authoring dozens of books, and writing magazine articles.

When the president of SWFAS, Bob Francis, forwarded an e-mail to all of us club members saying that David Levy was coming to a 100 Hours of Astronomy event in Sarasota, FL, I was instantly interested. Sarasota isn't very far up the road from Fort Myers, and when I saw the date fit into my schedule, I was ecstatic. On Saturday, April 4, he'll be giving a talk entitled "A Night Watchman's Journey: My Life and Times as a Comet Hunter," with a book signing afterwards. The event is being held at Sarasota's science museum G. WIZ. I can't wait!