Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Earth

2012-05-06T02:15:47Z

Proudrednek:

{{Planet|image=Blue Marble.jpg
|symbol=Earth symbol.svg
|order=3
|primary=Sun
|periapsis=147,090,000 km (0.983 AU)<ref name=earthfact>"[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html Earth Fact Sheet]," [[NASA]], April 19, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=152,100,000 km (1.017 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|semimajor=149,597,886.5 km (1.00000011 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|bode=1.0 AU
|eccentricity=0.01671022<ref name=earthfact/>
|sidereal=365.256366 da<ref name=earthfact/>
|synodic=365.256366 da
|orbitspeed=29.783 km/s<ref name=earthfact/>
|inclination=0°
|reference=the ecliptic
|siderealday=23.9345 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|solarday=24 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|rotatespeed=465.11 m/s
|axialtilt=23.439281°
|mass=5.9736 * 1024 kg<ref name=earthfact/>
|density=5,515.3 kg/m³<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacegrav=9.780327 m/s²
|escapespeed=11.186 km/s
|meanradius=6371 km<ref>http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earth.htm</ref><ref name=earthfact/>
|equatorradius =6378.135 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|polarradius =6356.750 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacearea=510,065,600 km²
|landarea=148,939,100 km²
|waterarea=361,126,400 km²
|mintemp=185 K
|meantemp=287 K
|maxtemp=331 K
|moons=1
|composition=Rock
|albedo=0.37<ref name=earthfact/>
|mfd=0.3076 G<ref name=earthfact/>
|pmdm=7.98 * 1022 N-m/T<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
|cmdm=1.41 * 1024 N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref>
|mdt=2049 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=1420 a<ref name=calc/>
}}
The '''Earth''' is the only known [[planet]] in our '''Solar System''' which can support [[life]]. It contains [[water]], reasonable levels of [[oxygen]], and a stable [[temperature]] range. Geometrically speaking, Earth is the largest of the terrestrial (rocky) planets in the [[solar system]].

==Physical Description==

Within the [[Solar System]], Earth is the third planet from the [[Sun]]. It is approximately 8,000 miles (13,000 km) in diameter; its equatorial circumference (measured around the equator) is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), and the polar circumference is slightly less at 24,809 miles (40,008 km).<ref>http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm</ref> The reason its metric circumference is so close to the "round number" of 40,000 is that the [[kilometer]] was defined (by the French) as 1/10,000th the distance from the [[Equator]] to the [[North Pole]].

Its surface area is approximately 4·π (4000 mi)2 = 200 million square miles (510 million km2). It has been said that Earth should really be called "water", as the larger part of it—about 70%—is covered by water. In fact, the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] oceans alone cover about half of the Earth's surface.

The Earth orbits at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km) from the Sun in an almost circular orbit. The plane of this orbit, or '''ecliptic''', is the common reference plane for the inclinations of the orbits of all [[planet|planets]] and [[dwarf planet|dwarf planets]] in the [[Solar System]], though in fact Earth's orbit is inclined 7.25° to the plane of the [[Sun]]'s equator. It takes light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) approximately 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth, i.e. the distance can also be stated as "500 light-seconds." The distance to nearby stars is made by measuring the stellar [[parallax]] between observations when the earth is at opposite ends of its orbit, so the Earth's orbit itself is a measuring stick for astronomical distances, and is known as the ''astronomical unit'' (A. U.) It is worth noting that if the Earth were slightly closer to the Sun, it would be too hot for life while if Earth were slightly further away from the Sun, water would freeze and life as we know it would be impossible.

==Origin==
People disagree about when and how the Earth was created. The three most popular ideas are:
#That God created the Earth several hundred generations ago, as recounted in [[Genesis]]. By adding years and other time indications in the [[Old Testament]] chronologies, one can calculate the age of the Earth as approximately 6,000 years (see [[Date of creation]] and [[Young Earth Creationism]]).
#That God created the Earth billions of years ago (see [[Old Earth Creationism]] and [[Theistic Evolution]]).
#That the Earth came into existence billions of years ago (approximately 4.5 billion years in modern estimates), but entirely through natural processes and without any intervention by God.

Clashes between adherents of these ideas have gone on since time immemorial (see [[origins debate]]), though the last theory has only matured in the last 200 years.

== Young Earth Creationist view ==

===Formation and Age===

Young Earth creationists believe, on the basis of the biblical account in Genesis and biblical geochronologies, that the entire Earth, including animal, plant, and human life, was formed in six days, around 4000 B.C.
Mainstream scientific journals, committed to a [[naturalism|naturalistic]] worldview, contend this view.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/0822sternberg.asp 1</ref><ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/538.asp 2</ref><ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53400 3</ref><ref>http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3833&program=DI%20Main%20Page%20-%20News&callingPage=discoMainPage 4</ref>

Most scientists believe that the Earth formed by natural processes instead of having been created by a supernatural entity. However, as one scientist noted, “... most every prediction by theorists about planetary formation has been wrong.” <ref>http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/ReferencesandNotes43.html</ref>

=== Magnetosphere ===
Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field powerful enough to prevent most of the Sun's radiation from reaching the Earth and harming the life on it. This field has been decaying at a known exponential rate, as decades of recordkeeping reveal. In 1984, Dr. Russell Humphreys developed a model for the creation of magnetic fields<ref name=Humphreys/> that suggests that the Earth was at first made entirely of water<ref>See {{Bible ref|book=II_Peter|chap=3|verses=5}}</ref>, much of which God transmuted into other elements after He made the Earth, probably on the third day of Creation. Humphreys's predicted magnetic decay time for the Earth agrees well with published data and thus constitutes further evidence for a young Earth.

===Shape of the Earth===

Some people dispute the shape of the Earth, arguing that the Bible describes the Earth as flat (presumably square, given that it is described as having "four corners" (Revelations 7:1))rather than spherical. However, no credible organization has ever expressed support for this theory.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm</ref> Some have disputed the idea that the Earth rotates around the Sun.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm</ref>

In [[Book of Revelations|Revelations]] 7:1 it is stated:

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth..." (Revelations 7:1)

A sphere has no corners. The four corners are also mentioned in Isaiah 11:12. This is often accepted to be a figure of speech.

It is also stated:

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 2:35)

AND

"Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:" (Daniel 4:10-11)

AND

"Behold, [Jesus] cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Revelations 1:7)

AND

"Once again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world [cosmos] in their glory." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 4:8)

Apologist [[JP Holding]]'s take on this is that this may have been a vision. <ref>http://www.tektonics.org/af/earthshape.html#globe</ref>

==Christianity and the Earth==

===Christian Historical-Grammatical Bible Exegesis or Bible Literalism===

According to [[Creation Ministries International]], most young earth creationists use a [[hermeneutic]] "best described as the [[Historical-grammatical exegesis|historical-grammatical method]] in which historical narrative (such as the book of Genesis) is interpreted as literal history, prophecy is interpreted as prophecy, poetry is interpreted as poetry, etc."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/tjv16v2_forster.pdf</ref> Creation Ministries International further states that "Historical-grammatical exegesis involves a systematic approach to analyzing in detail the historical situation, events and circumstances surrounding the text, and the semantics and syntactical relationships of the words which comprise the text."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4880/</ref>

Bible scholars have estimated the age of the earth based on the Creation account in Genesis and the genealogical accounts in Numbers and other books of the Pentateuch. One famous estimate was published in 1650 by [[James Ussher|James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh]] in a book called ''Annals of the World,'' in which he estimated the Creation to have occurred on 23 October 4004 B.C. Other Biblical scholars maintain that there are possible gaps in the genealogies, often using the ideas of the 19th century Calvinist theologian [[Benjamin Warfield]] on the issue. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/primeval_chronology.shtml</ref> However, [[James Barr]], regius professor of Hebrew at [[Oxford University]], wrote in 1984 the following: "… probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: … the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story.’" <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1606/</ref> Furthermore, it should be noted that Barr himself rejects supernatural Christianity, and so is not ''[[a priori]]'' biased in favor of creationism. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/pca_creation_study_committee_report.shtml</ref>

Many [[Christian|Christians]] believe that the Earth is the perfect distance away from the Sun and take this to be evidence of [[God]]'s existence. <ref>http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html</ref> Secular scientists, however, reject this reasoning using the anthropic principle<ref>http://www.anthropic-principle.com</ref>.

===Christian Non-Literalism===

Many mainstream Christian denominations believe the story of Genesis is not meant to be read literally, and believe that the age of the Earth is on the order of millions or billions of years, not thousands of years. <ref>http://webusers.xula.edu/cporter/2000n/evolution_and_religion.htm</ref>

===Scientific Uniformitarianism===

Uniformitarian scientists believe that the earth is beyond 4 billion years old.<ref>http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html</ref> They also refute that the Earth is only 6,000 years old by quoting older human societies dated by their dating method as older than that.<ref>http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/</ref>

== Naturalistic view ==

Estimates by uniformitarian geologists of the age of the Earth and the beginning of life give about 4.55 billion years and 3.5 billion years ago respectively. These estimates are primarily based on radioactive dating of meteorites and fossil specimens. Most scientists today conclude that the Earth formed by natural processes, specifically by the accumulation of debris orbiting the sun billions of years in the past.<ref name=nebula>"[http://science.jrank.org/pages/6265/Solar-System-solar-nebula-hypothesis.html The Solar Nebula Hypothesis]." ''The Science Encyclopedia''. Accessed May 6, 2008.</ref>

== External links ==

*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/earth.htm The Earth]
*[http://www.noaa.gov/ NOAA] An agency that enriches life through science.
*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/glossary/ Glossary]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Solarsystem}}

[[Category:Featured articles]]

Earth

2012-05-06T02:15:27Z

Proudrednek:

|symbol=Earth symbol.svg
|order=3
|primary=Sun
|periapsis=147,090,000 km (0.983 AU)<ref name=earthfact>"[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html Earth Fact Sheet]," [[NASA]], April 19, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=152,100,000 km (1.017 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|semimajor=149,597,886.5 km (1.00000011 AU)<ref name=earthfact/>
|bode=1.0 AU
|eccentricity=0.01671022<ref name=earthfact/>
|sidereal=365.256366 da<ref name=earthfact/>
|synodic=365.256366 da
|orbitspeed=29.783 km/s<ref name=earthfact/>
|inclination=0°
|reference=the ecliptic
|siderealday=23.9345 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|solarday=24 h<ref name=earthfact/>
|rotatespeed=465.11 m/s
|axialtilt=23.439281°
|mass=5.9736 * 1024 kg<ref name=earthfact/>
|density=5,515.3 kg/m³<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacegrav=9.780327 m/s²
|escapespeed=11.186 km/s
|meanradius=6371 km<ref>http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earth.htm</ref><ref name=earthfact/>
|equatorradius =6378.135 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|polarradius =6356.750 km<ref name=earthfact/>
|surfacearea=510,065,600 km²
|landarea=148,939,100 km²
|waterarea=361,126,400 km²
|mintemp=185 K
|meantemp=287 K
|maxtemp=331 K
|moons=1
|composition=Rock
|albedo=0.37<ref name=earthfact/>
|mfd=0.3076 G<ref name=earthfact/>
|pmdm=7.98 * 1022 N-m/T<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
|cmdm=1.41 * 1024 N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref>
|mdt=2049 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=1420 a<ref name=calc/>
}}
The '''Earth''' is the only known [[planet]] in our '''Solar System''' which can support [[life]]. It contains [[water]], reasonable levels of [[oxygen]], and a stable [[temperature]] range. Geometrically speaking, Earth is the largest of the terrestrial (rocky) planets in the [[solar system]].

==Physical Description==

Within the [[Solar System]], Earth is the third planet from the [[Sun]]. It is approximately 8,000 miles (13,000 km) in diameter; its equatorial circumference (measured around the equator) is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), and the polar circumference is slightly less at 24,809 miles (40,008 km).<ref>http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm</ref> The reason its metric circumference is so close to the "round number" of 40,000 is that the [[kilometer]] was defined (by the French) as 1/10,000th the distance from the [[Equator]] to the [[North Pole]].

Its surface area is approximately 4·π (4000 mi)2 = 200 million square miles (510 million km2). It has been said that Earth should really be called "water", as the larger part of it—about 70%—is covered by water. In fact, the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] and [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] oceans alone cover about half of the Earth's surface.

The Earth orbits at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km) from the Sun in an almost circular orbit. The plane of this orbit, or '''ecliptic''', is the common reference plane for the inclinations of the orbits of all [[planet|planets]] and [[dwarf planet|dwarf planets]] in the [[Solar System]], though in fact Earth's orbit is inclined 7.25° to the plane of the [[Sun]]'s equator. It takes light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) approximately 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth, i.e. the distance can also be stated as "500 light-seconds." The distance to nearby stars is made by measuring the stellar [[parallax]] between observations when the earth is at opposite ends of its orbit, so the Earth's orbit itself is a measuring stick for astronomical distances, and is known as the ''astronomical unit'' (A. U.) It is worth noting that if the Earth were slightly closer to the Sun, it would be too hot for life while if Earth were slightly further away from the Sun, water would freeze and life as we know it would be impossible.

==Origin==
People disagree about when and how the Earth was created. The three most popular ideas are:
#That God created the Earth several hundred generations ago, as recounted in [[Genesis]]. By adding years and other time indications in the [[Old Testament]] chronologies, one can calculate the age of the Earth as approximately 6,000 years (see [[Date of creation]] and [[Young Earth Creationism]]).
#That God created the Earth billions of years ago (see [[Old Earth Creationism]] and [[Theistic Evolution]]).
#That the Earth came into existence billions of years ago (approximately 4.5 billion years in modern estimates), but entirely through natural processes and without any intervention by God.

Clashes between adherents of these ideas have gone on since time immemorial (see [[origins debate]]), though the last theory has only matured in the last 200 years.

== Young Earth Creationist view ==

===Formation and Age===

Young Earth creationists believe, on the basis of the biblical account in Genesis and biblical geochronologies, that the entire Earth, including animal, plant, and human life, was formed in six days, around 4000 B.C.
Mainstream scientific journals, committed to a [[naturalism|naturalistic]] worldview, contend this view.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/0822sternberg.asp 1</ref><ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/538.asp 2</ref><ref>http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53400 3</ref><ref>http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3833&program=DI%20Main%20Page%20-%20News&callingPage=discoMainPage 4</ref>

Most scientists believe that the Earth formed by natural processes instead of having been created by a supernatural entity. However, as one scientist noted, “... most every prediction by theorists about planetary formation has been wrong.” <ref>http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/ReferencesandNotes43.html</ref>

=== Magnetosphere ===
Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field powerful enough to prevent most of the Sun's radiation from reaching the Earth and harming the life on it. This field has been decaying at a known exponential rate, as decades of recordkeeping reveal. In 1984, Dr. Russell Humphreys developed a model for the creation of magnetic fields<ref name=Humphreys/> that suggests that the Earth was at first made entirely of water<ref>See {{Bible ref|book=II_Peter|chap=3|verses=5}}</ref>, much of which God transmuted into other elements after He made the Earth, probably on the third day of Creation. Humphreys's predicted magnetic decay time for the Earth agrees well with published data and thus constitutes further evidence for a young Earth.

===Shape of the Earth===

Some people dispute the shape of the Earth, arguing that the Bible describes the Earth as flat (presumably square, given that it is described as having "four corners" (Revelations 7:1))rather than spherical. However, no credible organization has ever expressed support for this theory.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm</ref> Some have disputed the idea that the Earth rotates around the Sun.<ref>http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm</ref>

In [[Book of Revelations|Revelations]] 7:1 it is stated:

"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth..." (Revelations 7:1)

A sphere has no corners. The four corners are also mentioned in Isaiah 11:12. This is often accepted to be a figure of speech.

It is also stated:

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." ([[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] 2:35)

AND

"Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:" (Daniel 4:10-11)

AND

"Behold, [Jesus] cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him" (Revelations 1:7)

AND

"Once again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world [cosmos] in their glory." ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 4:8)

Apologist [[JP Holding]]'s take on this is that this may have been a vision. <ref>http://www.tektonics.org/af/earthshape.html#globe</ref>

==Christianity and the Earth==

===Christian Historical-Grammatical Bible Exegesis or Bible Literalism===

According to [[Creation Ministries International]], most young earth creationists use a [[hermeneutic]] "best described as the [[Historical-grammatical exegesis|historical-grammatical method]] in which historical narrative (such as the book of Genesis) is interpreted as literal history, prophecy is interpreted as prophecy, poetry is interpreted as poetry, etc."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/tjv16v2_forster.pdf</ref> Creation Ministries International further states that "Historical-grammatical exegesis involves a systematic approach to analyzing in detail the historical situation, events and circumstances surrounding the text, and the semantics and syntactical relationships of the words which comprise the text."<ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4880/</ref>

Bible scholars have estimated the age of the earth based on the Creation account in Genesis and the genealogical accounts in Numbers and other books of the Pentateuch. One famous estimate was published in 1650 by [[James Ussher|James Ussher Archbishop of Armagh]] in a book called ''Annals of the World,'' in which he estimated the Creation to have occurred on 23 October 4004 B.C. Other Biblical scholars maintain that there are possible gaps in the genealogies, often using the ideas of the 19th century Calvinist theologian [[Benjamin Warfield]] on the issue. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/primeval_chronology.shtml</ref> However, [[James Barr]], regius professor of Hebrew at [[Oxford University]], wrote in 1984 the following: "… probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: … the figures contained in the Genesis genealogies provided by simple addition a chronology from the beginning of the world up to later stages in the biblical story.’" <ref>http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1606/</ref> Furthermore, it should be noted that Barr himself rejects supernatural Christianity, and so is not ''[[a priori]]'' biased in favor of creationism. <ref>http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/pca_creation_study_committee_report.shtml</ref>

Many [[Christian|Christians]] believe that the Earth is the perfect distance away from the Sun and take this to be evidence of [[God]]'s existence. <ref>http://www.everystudent.com/features/isthere.html</ref> Secular scientists, however, reject this reasoning using the anthropic principle<ref>http://www.anthropic-principle.com</ref>.

===Christian Non-Literalism===

Many mainstream Christian denominations believe the story of Genesis is not meant to be read literally, and believe that the age of the Earth is on the order of millions or billions of years, not thousands of years. <ref>http://webusers.xula.edu/cporter/2000n/evolution_and_religion.htm</ref>

===Scientific Uniformitarianism===

Uniformitarian scientists believe that the earth is beyond 4 billion years old.<ref>http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html</ref> They also refute that the Earth is only 6,000 years old by quoting older human societies dated by their dating method as older than that.<ref>http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/</ref>

== Naturalistic view ==

Estimates by uniformitarian geologists of the age of the Earth and the beginning of life give about 4.55 billion years and 3.5 billion years ago respectively. These estimates are primarily based on radioactive dating of meteorites and fossil specimens. Most scientists today conclude that the Earth formed by natural processes, specifically by the accumulation of debris orbiting the sun billions of years in the past.<ref name=nebula>"[http://science.jrank.org/pages/6265/Solar-System-solar-nebula-hypothesis.html The Solar Nebula Hypothesis]." ''The Science Encyclopedia''. Accessed May 6, 2008.</ref>

== External links ==

*[http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/earth.htm The Earth]
*[http://www.noaa.gov/ NOAA] An agency that enriches life through science.
*[http://www.enchantedlearning.com/geography/glossary/ Glossary]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Solarsystem}}

[[Category:Featured articles]]

Neil deGrasse Tyson

2012-05-06T02:11:07Z

Proudrednek:

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Neil deGrasse Tyson
|image = Neil deGrasse Tyson - NAC Nov 2005.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Tyson at the NASA Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., November 2005
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|10|5}}
|birth_place = [[Manhattan]], New York City, United States<ref name="birthplace">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKOoTRE1HUc#t=17m19s Neil deGrasse Tyson - Called by the Universe]. The Science Network. Retrieved February 9, 2012.</ref>
|death_date =
|death_place =
|residence = Manhattan, New York City, United States
|field = [[Astrophysics]], [[physical cosmology]], [[science communication]]
|work_institutions = [[Hayden Planetarium]], [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], [[Planetary Society]]
|alma_mater = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]]) [[University of Texas at Austin]] ([[Master of Arts (postgraduate)|MA]]) [[Columbia University]] ([[MPhil]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
|doctoral_advisor =
|doctoral_students =
|known_for =
|author_abbrev_bot =
|author_abbrev_zoo =
|influences = [[Issac Newton]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Fred C. Hess]]
|influenced =
|prizes = [[NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal]]
|footnotes =
}}

'''Neil deGrasse Tyson''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|n|iː|ə|l|_|d|ə|ˈ|ɡ|r|æ|s|_|ˈ|t|aɪ|s|ə|n|}} born October 5, 1958) is an American [[astrophysicist]] and [[science communication|science communicator]]. He is currently the Frederick P. Rose Director of the [[Hayden Planetarium]] at the [[Rose Center for Earth and Space]], and a research associate in the department of astrophysics at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. Since 2006 he has hosted the educational science television show ''[[NOVA scienceNOW]]'' on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], and has been a frequent guest on ''[[The Daily Show]]'', ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', ''[[Real Time with Bill Maher]]'', and ''[[Jeopardy!]]''. It was announced on August 5, 2011, that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to [[Carl Sagan]]'s ''[[Cosmos: A Personal Voyage]]'' television series.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blum|first=Matt|title=Cosmos Will Get a Sequel Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson|url=http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/cosmos-to-get-a-sequel-hosted-by-neil-degrasse-tyson/|accessdate=August 5, 2011|newspaper=Wired|date=August 5, 2011}}</ref>

==Early life==
Tyson was born as the second of three children in the borough of [[Manhattan]] in New York City, but was raised in [[the Bronx]].<ref name="birthplace" /> His mother, Sunchita Feliciano Tyson, was a [[gerontologist]] and his father, Cyril deGrasse Tyson, was a [[sociologist]], human resource commissioner for the New York City mayor, [[John Lindsay]], and was the first Director of [[HARYOU]].<ref>Whitaker, Charles (August 2000). "[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=BdkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60 Super Stargazer]". Ebony '''55''' (10): 60. {{ISSN|0012-9011}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.cornerstoneliteracy.org/meetings/Winter%202007/Wednesday%20materials/Advance%20Reading.pdf Advance Reading for Keynote address]. Cornerstone. Accessed September 4, 2009.</ref> Tyson attended the [[Bronx High School of Science]] (1972–1976, [[astrophysics]] emphasis) where he was captain of the wrestling team and was [[editor-in-chief]] of the school's ''Physical Science Journal''. Tyson had an abiding interest in [[astronomy]] from the age of eleven, following his visit to the Hayden Planetarium at age nine. Tyson recalls that "so strong was that imprint [of the night sky] that I'm certain that I had no choice in the matter, that in fact, the universe called me."<ref>{{cite video|title=Stephen Colbert Interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson|date=January 29th, 2010|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YXh9RQCvxmg#t=1597s|work=interview}}</ref> He obsessively studied astronomy in his teens, and eventually even gained some fame in the astronomy community by giving lectures on the subject at the age of fifteen.

Astronomer [[Carl Sagan]], who was a faculty member at [[Cornell University]], tried to recruit Tyson to Cornell for [[undergraduate]] studies.<ref>{{cite news
|url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_10_55/ai_63735675
|title= Super Stargazer – astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson – brief article
|accessdate=June 24, 2008
|author= Whitaker, Charles
|year= 2000
|month= 08
|work= [[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]
|publisher= Johnson Publishing }}</ref> During an interview with writer Daniel Simone,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Conversation With Neil deGrasse Tyson|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS.org]]|accessdate=October 25, 2009|date=July 2004|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/origins/tyson.html}}</ref> Tyson said, "Interestingly, when I applied to Cornell, my application dripped of my passion for the study and research of the Universe. Somehow the admissions office brought my application to the attention of the late Dr. Sagan, and he actually took the initiative and care to contact me. He was very inspirational and a most powerful influence. Dr. Sagan was as great as the universe, an effective mentor." Tyson chose to attend [[Harvard University]], however, where he majored in [[physics]] and lived in [[Currier House (Harvard College)|Currier House]]. He was a member of the [[Sport rowing|crew]] team during his freshman year, but returned to wrestling, eventually [[Letterman (sports)|lettering]] in his senior year. Tyson earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|bachelor of arts]] in physics from Harvard in 1980 and began his graduate work at the [[University of Texas at Austin]], where he earned a [[Master of Arts (postgraduate)|master of arts]] in astronomy in 1983. In addition to wrestling and rowing in college, he was also active in dancing in styles including [[Jazz dance|jazz]], [[ballet]], [[wikt:Afro-Caribbean|Afro-Caribbean]], and [[List of dance style categories#International Latin|Latin Ballroom]]. In 1985, he won a gold medal with the University of Texas dance team at a national tournament in the International Latin Ballroom style. He started to work toward a [[doctorate]] at the University of Texas, but transferred to [[Columbia University]] in 1988 after his committee was dissolved.<ref>{{cite video|date=December 12, 2008|title=Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I5Fl1Qn-Do|accessdate=May 1, 2010|time=45:43}}</ref> At Columbia University, in 1989, he received a [[master of philosophy]] in astrophysics and, in 1991, he earned a [[doctor of philosophy]] in astrophysics.

==Career==
[[File:Tyson & students.jpg|thumb|Tyson with students at the 2007 [[American Astronomical Society]] conference]]
Tyson's research has focused on observations in [[star formation|stellar formation]] and [[stellar evolution|evolution]] as well as [[physical cosmology|cosmology]] and [[galactic astronomy]]. He has held numerous positions at institutions including [[University of Maryland]], [[Princeton University]], the [[American Museum of Natural History]], and Hayden Planetarium.

Tyson has written a number of popular books on astronomy. In 1995, he began to write the "Universe" column for ''[[Natural History (magazine)|Natural History]]'' magazine. In a column he authored for the magazine in 2002, Tyson coined the term "[[Manhattanhenge]]" to describe the two days annually on which the evening sun aligns with the cross streets of the street grid in Manhattan, making the sunset visible along unobstructed side streets.

In 2001, President [[George W. Bush]] appointed Tyson to serve on the [[Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry]] and in 2004 to serve on the [[President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy]], the latter better known as the "Moon, Mars, and Beyond" commission. Soon afterward he was awarded the [[NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal]], the highest civilian honor bestowed by NASA.<ref Name="PSM">{{cite web|title=Symposium Awards|publisher=National Space Symposium|accessdate=October 25, 2010|url=http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/about/awards/douglas-s-morrow-public-outreach-award}}</ref>

In 2004, he hosted the four-part "Origins" miniseries of PBS's ''[[Nova (TV series)|Nova]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/origins/|title=NOVA – Origins – PBS|year=2004|work=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS)|author=WGBH Educational Foundation|accessdate=June 7, 2009}}</ref> and, with [[Donald Goldsmith]], co-authored the companion volume for this series, ''Origins: Fourteen Billion Years Of Cosmic Evolution''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution |last=Tyson |first=Neil deGrasse |first2=Donald|last2=Goldsmith |year=2004 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co |location=New York |isbn=9780393059922}}</ref> He again collaborated with Goldsmith as the narrator on the documentary [[400 Years of the Telescope]] which premiered on PBS in April 2009.

[[File:Tyson & Kepler team.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Tyson in December 2011 at a conference marking 1,000 days after the launch of the spacecraft ''[[Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler]]'']]
As director of the Hayden Planetarium, Tyson bucked traditional thinking in order to keep [[Pluto]] from being referred to as the ninth planet in exhibits at the center. Tyson has explained that he wanted to look at commonalities between objects, grouping the terrestrial planets together, the gas giants together, and Pluto with like objects and to get away from simply counting the planets. He has stated on ''The Colbert Report'', ''The Daily Show'', and ''[[BBC Horizon]]'' that this decision has resulted in large amounts of hate mail, much of it from children.<ref>''[[The Colbert Report]]'', August 17, 2006 </ref> In 2006, the [[International Astronomical Union|I.A.U.]] confirmed this assessment by changing Pluto to the "[[dwarf planet]]" classification. [[Daniel Simone]] wrote of the interview with Tyson describing his frustration. "For a while, we were not very popular here at the Hayden Planetarium."

Tyson has been vice-president, president, and chairman of the board of the [[Planetary Society]]. He is also the host of the PBS program ''[[Nova ScienceNow]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/|title=NOVA – scienceNOW – PBS|work=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS)|accessdate=June 7, 2009}}</ref> He attended and was a speaker at the [[Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival]] symposium on November 2006. In 2007, Tyson, who is known for his vibrant character, cheerful demeanor, and awe of the vastness of the universe itself, was chosen to be a regular on [[The History Channel]]'s popular series ''[[The Universe (TV series)|The Universe]]''.

In May 2009, he launched a one-hour radio talk show called ''[[StarTalk]]'', which he co-hosted with comedienne [[Lynne Koplitz]]. The show was syndicated on Sunday afternoons on [[KTLK (AM)|KTLK AM]] in Los Angeles and [[WHFS]] in Washington D.C. The show lasted for thirteen weeks, but was resurrected in December 2010 and then, co-hosted with comedians [[Chuck Nice]] and [[Leighann Lord]] instead of Koplitz. The show is also available via the internet through a live stream or in the form of a [[podcast]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://startalkradio.net/|title=StarTalk Radio Show|accessdate=May 30, 2011}}</ref>

In April 2011, Tyson was the keynote speaker at the 93rd International Convention of the [[Phi Theta Kappa]] International Honor Society of the Two-year School. He and [[James Randi]] delivered a lecture entitled ''Skepticism'', which related directly with the convention's theme of ''The Democratization of Information: Power, Peril, and Promise''.

In 2012, Tyson announced that he would appear in a YouTube series based on his popular ''[[StarTalk]]'' radio show. A premiere date for the show has not been announced, but it will be distributed on the Nerdist YouTube Channel.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOir4aMu0vYI Nerdist Channel Sneak Peek] (March 27, 2012) from YouTube</ref>

==Views==
Tyson has argued that the concept of [[intelligent design]] thwarts the advance of scientific knowledge.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YotBtibsuh0 |title=YouTube – Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Intelligent Design" at "Beyond Belief", Youtube |publisher=Youtube.com |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2005/11/01/the-perimeter-of-ignorance |title=Neil deGrasse Tyson : "The Perimeter of Ignorance" |publisher=Haydenplanetarium.org |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref name="HolyWars">[http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/1999/10/01/holy-wars Holy Wars] from [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]</ref> When asked if he believed in a higher power, Tyson responded: "Every account of a higher power that I've seen described, of all religions that I've seen, include many statements with regard to the benevolence of that power. When I look at the universe and all the ways the universe wants to kill us, I find it hard to reconcile that with statements of beneficence."<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZhOm6N4-I0&feature=channel |title=YouTube video |publisher=Youtube.com |date=April 9, 2010 |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> In an interview on podcast ''[[Point of Inquiry]]'', Tyson defines himself as an [[agnostic]].<ref>{{Cite podcast | url = http://www.pointofinquiry.org/neil_degrasse_tyson_communicating_science/ | title = Neil deGrasse Tyson – Communicating Science | website = Point of Inquiry | publisher = Center for Inquiry | host = Chris Mooney | date = February 28, 2011 | accessdate =March 3, 2011 |quote=Widely claimed by atheists, Tyson is actually an agnostic.}}</ref>

He has written and broadcast extensively about his views of religion, spirituality, and the spirituality of science including the essays, "The Perimeter of Ignorance"<ref>[http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2005/11/01/the-perimeter-of-ignorance The Perimeter of Ignorance] from Tyson's website</ref> and "Holy Wars",<ref name="HolyWars" /> both appearing in ''Natural History'' magazine and the 2006 ''Beyond Belief'' workshop.<ref>[http://beyondbelief2006.org/ Beyond Belief 2006: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival] from [[The Science Network]]</ref><ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgSaTYLYRGI Beyond Belief '06 – Neil deGrasse Tyson] (Monday, November 5) from YouTube</ref> Tyson has collaborated with evolutionary biologist [[Richard Dawkins]] and presented talks with him on religion and science.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://richarddawkins.net/events#event_3ef651d96580d1fc9c00e2ddb9d70139 |title=Richard Dawkins website |publisher=Richarddawkins.net |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref>

Tyson lived near the [[World Trade Center]] and was an eyewitness to the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]]. He wrote a widely circulated letter on what he saw.<ref>[http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2001/09/12/the-horror-the-horror "The Horror, The Horror"] from Tyson's website</ref> On June 6, 2008, after the conclusion of the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|Democratic presidential primaries]], Tyson wrote an op-ed in ''[[The New York Times]]'' in which he presented a statistical analysis of then recent polling data. From this analysis, Tyson concluded that in a hypothetical election held on the day of the publication of his article, [[Barack Obama]] would lose to [[John McCain]], whereas [[Hillary Clinton]] would beat McCain.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/opinion/06tyson.html|title=Vote by Numbers|work=The New York Times|author=Neil deGrasse Tyson|date=June 6, 2008|accessdate=June 7, 2009}}</ref>

Tyson collaborated with [[PETA]] on a [[Public service announcement|PSA]] that stated, "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that kindness is a virtue."<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson's Interview With PETA|url=http://www.peta.org/features/Dr-Neil-deGrasse-Tyson-Interview.aspx|accessdate=August 6, 2011}}</ref> He also granted PETA an interview, in which he discussed the concept of intelligence (both of human and other animals), the failure of humans to heretofore communicate meaningfully with other animals, and the need of humans to be empathetic.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson's Exclusive PETA Interview|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL6hj6xLE8w&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.peta.org%2Ffeatures%2FDr-Neil-deGrasse-Tyson-Interview.aspx&feature=player_embedded|accessdate=August 6, 2011}}</ref>

==Media appearances==
In 2007 Tyson was the keynote speaker during the dedication ceremony of [[Deerfield Academy]]'s new science center, the Koch Center. He emphasized the impact science will have on the twenty-first century, as well as explaining that investments into science may be costly, but their returns in the form of knowledge gained, and piquing interest is invaluable. Tyson also appeared as the keynote speaker at [[The Amazing Meeting]] 6, a science and [[skepticism]] conference hosted by the ''[[James Randi Educational Foundation]]'', in June 2008.

{{Quote box|align=right|quote=''"…[a] most important feature is the analysis of the information that comes your way. And that’s what I don’t see enough of in this world. There’s a level of gullibility that leaves people susceptible to being taken advantage of. I see '''science literacy''' as kind of a vaccine against charlatans who would try to exploit your ignorance..."''|source=—'''Neil deGrasse Tyson''' from a transcript of an interview by [[Roger Bingham]] on [[The Science Network]] <ref>http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/the-science-studio/neil-degrasse-tyson</ref><ref>http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/read/2009/07/23/called-by-the-universe</ref>}}
Tyson appeared eight times on ''The Colbert Report'' between October 26, 2005 and January 6, 2011. [[Stephen Colbert]] refers to him in his book ''[[I Am America (And So Can You!)]]'' in his chapter on scientists. Remarking that most scientists are "decent, well-intentioned people," a sidebar includes the exception, "However, Neil DeGrasse Tyson is an absolute monster."<ref>{{cite book |title=I Am America (And So Can You!) |last=Colbert |first=Stephen |year=2007 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing Hachette Book Group USA |location=New York |isbn=0446580503}}</ref>

He also appeared five times on ''[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]]'' between January 2007 and January 2011, once to discuss black holes and his new book ''[[Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries]]''. Two days after his first appearance on ''The Daily Show'', the book ranked as the fourth best selling book on Amazon. He also has made appearances on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'' (2007).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/watch |title=Watch | Neil deGrasse Tyson |publisher=Haydenplanetarium.org |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> He served as one of the central interviewees on the various episodes of the History Channel science program, ''The Universe'', and was featured as a guest interviewee on episode #156 of ''[[The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe]]'' (2008). Tyson participated on the [[NPR]] radio quiz program ''[[Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!]]'' in 2007.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=35&prgDate=02-24-2007&view=storyview Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!] from [[National Public Radio|NPR]]</ref> On October 25, 2008 he appeared on the series premiere of ''[[D.L. Hughley Breaks the News]]'', a [[CNN]] comedic news show. In 2009 he appeared as a guest on ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992 TV series)|The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'', talking about his book ''[[The Pluto Files]]''. On June 25, 2009 he appeared as a guest on ''[[Late Night With Jimmy Fallon]]'' to promote the ''The Pluto Files'' and to talk about his PBS show, ''NOVA scienceNOW''. He has been in three of the [[Symphony of Science]] videos, [[Symphony of Science#We Are All Connected|We Are All Connected]], [[Symphony of Science#The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science)|The Poetry of Reality]], and [[Symphony of Science#Onward to the Edge|Onward to the Edge]]. In 2010 he appeared on ''[[The Rachel Maddow Show (TV series)|The Rachel Maddow Show]]'' to discuss Pluto's reclassification, during a recurring segment called ''Moment of Geek''.{{clarify | reason= Moment of Geek is recurring segment of what? | date= March 2012}} He also featured on an episode of ''[[Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?]]'' as the ask the expert lifeline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/626200 |title=Episode: A Theory of Everything? Podcast |publisher=PodcastDirectory |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/648292 |title=Episode: Proving String Theory Podcast |publisher=PodcastDirectory |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref> On November 21, 2008, Tyson made a [[guest appearance]] as himself in the episode "[[Brain Storm (Stargate Atlantis)|Brain Storm]]" of ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''.<ref>{{IMDb episode|1252205|"Stargate: Atlantis" Brain Storm (2008)}}</ref> and on November 6, 2010 in the episode "[[List of The Big Bang Theory episodes (season 4)#ep70|The Apology Insufficiency]]" of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''.<ref>{{IMDb episode|1632244|"The Big Bang Theory" The Apology Insufficiency (2010)}}</ref> On February 4, 2011, Tyson participated as guest on the 201st episode and again on the 223rd and 239th episodes of ''Real Time with Bill Maher''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes#/real-time-with-bill-maher/episodes/0/201-episode/guest-stars.html |title=Episode 201 guest stars| publisher=[[HBO]] |accessdate=February 9, 2011 & August 5, 2011}}</ref> Tyson was interviewed for [[The State of Things (radio show)]] on April 25, 2012 discussing his latest book, "Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier". <ref>{{cite web |url=http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Rock_Star_of_the_Stars.mp3/view |title=Rock Star of the Stars |date=2012-04-25 |accessdate=2012-04-30}}</ref>

Tyson is also a frequent participant in the website [[Reddit]]’s AMAs (Ask Me Anythings) where he is responsible for 3 of the top 10 most popular AMAs all-time. <ref>{{cite web|title=Inside the Reddit AMA: The Interview Revolution That Has Everyone Talking|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/05/01/inside-the-reddit-ama-the-interview-revolution-that-has-everyone-talking/|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=5 May 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Neil deGrasse Tyson.jpg|thumb|200px|Signing a copy of his book ''Origins'', portrait taken at [[JREF]]'s The Amazing Meeting 6]]
Tyson lives in [[Lower Manhattan]] with his wife and two children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/profile/about-neil-degrasse-tyson |title=Profile on Official Tyson website |publisher=Haydenplanetarium.org |date= |accessdate=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://vimeo.com/13115502 "Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson – TAM6"], 2008, Vimeo, 38:33 mark, accessed March 4, 2011.</ref>

Tyson is a fine wine enthusiast whose collection was featured in the May 2000 issue of the ''[[Wine Spectator]]'' and the Spring 2005 issue ''[[The World of Fine Wine]]''.

==Selected awards and honors==
===Awards===
* 2001 Medal of Excellence, Columbia University, New York City
* 2004 [[NASA]] Distinguished Public Service Medal
* 2007 [[Klopsteg Memorial Award]] winner
* 2009 [[Douglas Morrow#Legacy|Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award]] from the [[Space Foundation]] for significant contributions to public awareness of space programs.<ref Name="PSM"/>
* 2009 [[Isaac Asimov Awards|Isaac Asimov award]] from the [[American Humanist Association]] <ref>[http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/cv/honors Tyson's website. Honors listing].</ref>

===Selected honorary doctorates===
* 1997 [[York College, City University of New York|York College]], [[City University of New York]]
* 2000 [[Ramapo College]], Mahwah, New Jersey
* 2000 [[Dominican College (New York)|Dominican College]], Orangeburg, New York
* 2001 [[University of Richmond]], Richmond, Virginia
* 2002 [[Bloomfield College]], Bloomfield, New Jersey
* 2003 [[Northeastern University]], Boston, Massachusetts
* 2004 [[College of Staten Island]], City University of New York
* 2006 [[Pace University]], New York City
* 2007 [[Williams College]], Williamstown, Massachusetts
* 2007 [[Worcester Polytechnic Institute]], Worcester, Massachusetts
* 2008 [[University of Pennsylvania]], Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* 2010 [[University of Alabama in Huntsville]], Huntsville, Alabama
* 2010 [[Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute]], Troy, New York
* 2010 [[Eastern Connecticut State University]], Willimantic, Connecticut
* 2011 [[Gettysburg College]], Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
* 2012 [[Mount Holyoke College]], South Hadley, Massachusetts

===Honors===
* 2000 Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive, ''People Magazine''<ref name=peopleMag>{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20132902,00.html|accessdate=December 16, 2011|newspaper=People Magazine|date=November 13, 2000}}</ref>
* 2001 asteroid named: [[13123 Tyson]], renamed from Asteroid 1994KA by the [[International Astronomical Union]]
* 2001 The Tech 100, voted by editors of ''Crain's Magazine'' to be among the 100 most influential technology leaders in New York
* 2004 Fifty Most Important African-Americans in Research Science<ref>
"50 Of the Most Inspiring African Americans", Edited by Patricia Hinds, 2002, Essence Books (New York), p. 145.</ref>
* 2007 Harvard 100: Most Influential ''Harvard Alumni'' Magazine, Cambridge. Massachusetts
* 2007 The [[Time 100|''Time'' 100]], voted by the editors of ''Time Magazine'' as one of the 100 most influential people in the world<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1616157,00.html|title=Neil deGrasse Tyson|author=Michael D. Lemonick|work=Time – The Time 100|accessdate=June 7, 2009 | date=May 3, 2007}}</ref>
* 2008 ''[[Discover Magazine]]'' selected him one of the "50 Best Brains in Science".<ref>{{cite web|first=Corey|last=Powell|date=November 19, 2008|accessdate=October 25, 2009|publisher=[[Discover Magazine]]|url=http://discovermagazine.com/2008/dec/19-the-50-most-important-influential-and-promising-people-in-science|title=The 50 Most Important, Influential, and Promising People in Science}}</ref>

==Selected books by Tyson==
List of books by Tyson:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/curriculum-vitae#books|title=Books by Neil deGrasse Tyson|accessdate=October 25, 2009|publisher=[[Hayden Planetarium|haydenplanetarium.org]]}}</ref>

* ''Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier'' (2012) ISBN 0393082105
* ''[[The Pluto Files|The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet]]'' (2009) ISBN 0393065200
* ''[[Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries]]'' (2007) ISBN 0393330168
* ''The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist'' (1st ed. 2000 / 2nd ed. 2004) ISBN 9781591021889
* ''Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution'' (co-authored with Donald Goldsmith) (2004) ISBN 0393327582
* ''My Favorite Universe'' (A twelve part lecture series) (2003) ISBN 1565856635
* ''City of Stars: A New Yorker's Guide to the Cosmos'' (2002)
* ''Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge'' (2000) ISBN 1565846029
* ''One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos'' (2000) ISBN 0309064880
* ''Just Visiting This Planet'' (1998) ISBN 0385488378
* ''Universe Down to Earth'' (1994) ISBN 023107560X
* ''Merlin's Tour of the Universe'' (1989) ISBN 0385488351

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson}}
* {{Twitter|neiltyson|Neil deGrasse Tyson}}
* [http://www.haydenplanetarium.org/tyson/curriculum-vitae CV] at AMNH page
* [http://www.planetary.org/about/neil_tyson.html Biography] at the Planetary Society
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/ PBS NOVA scienceNOW with Neil deGrasse Tyson]
* [http://startalkradio.net/ Star Talk Radio Show hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson]
* {{IMDb name|1183205}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=79110445}}


{{Persondata
|NAME = Tyson, Neil deGrasse
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Tyson, Neil
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = Astrophysicist
|DATE OF BIRTH = October 5, 1958
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH =
|PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Neil Degrasse}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:African American academics]]
[[Category:African Americans in science]]
[[Category:American agnostics]]
[[Category:American astronomers]]
[[Category:American skeptics]]
[[Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Planetary scientists]]
[[Category:Space advocates]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni]]
[[Category:People from the Bronx]]
[[Category:People from Manhattan]]
[[Category:American educators]]

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[[zh:奈爾·德葛拉司·泰森]]

Christopher Hitchens

2012-05-06T02:08:09Z

Proudrednek:

[[Image:Hitchens,_Stanford.jpg‎ |right|thumb|200px|Christopher Hitchens]]
'''Christopher Eric Hitchens''' (April 13, 1949 - December 15, 2011) was a [[Journalism|journalist]], [[author]] and literary critic. Hitchens received degrees in [[philosophy]], [[politics]] and [[economics]] from [[Oxford University|Balliol College]], [[Oxford]], in 1970. From 1971-1981, he worked in [[Britain]] as book reviewer for ''The Times'' newspaper. He emigrated to the [[United States of America|United States]] in 1981, and has written regularly, or been a contributing editor for ''Harper's'', ''Vanity Fair'' and [[Nation (magazine)|''The Nation'']]. He was an avowed [[Marxist]], [[Atheism|atheist]] and [[Antitheism|antitheist]]. Hitchens has a younger brother, [[Peter Hitchens]], who is also a journalist, author and critic. Mr. Hitchens was one of the more prominent spokesperson for the [[New Atheism]] movement.

Christopher Hitchens was a member of the International Socialists and an active [[Trotskyist]] during his youth. Before his death he claimed to be "on the same side as the [[Neoconservatism|neo-conservatives]]," but does not consider himself a [[conservative]]. He supported [[George W. Bush|George W. Bush's]] foreign policy, but has a negative attitude towards Bush's support of [[intelligent design]]. Hitchens made himself unpopular, even among fellow atheists for his support of the Iraq War, which was motivated by his hatred of religion - in his own words, he supported the [[Operation Iraqi Freedom|Iraq War]] simply because [[Iraq|Iraqis]] were [[Islam|Muslim]], which has been compared to endorsement of racially-motivated [[genocide]].

He was a harsh critic of [[Ronald Reagan]], and considered [[Henry Kissinger]] a [[war criminal]]. Mr. Hitchens was also known for having a history of heavy drinking.<ref>http://www.counterpunch.org/mccarthy02212003.html</ref>

Christopher Hitchens was being treated for esophageal cancer caused by [[alcoholism|drinking]] and [[smoking]] up until his death on December 15, 2011.<ref>http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/07/video-extended-interview-hitchens-on-cancer-and-atheism/</ref>

== Hitchens on bestiality ==

''See also:'' [[Christopher Hitchens on bestiality]] and [[Atheism and bestiality]] and [[Evolutionary belief and bestiality]]

[[Bestiality]] is the act of engaging in sexual relations with an animal.

At the end of a [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] [[William Lane Craig]] vs. atheist Christopher Hitchens debate there was an audience question and answer period.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FofDChlSILU VIDEO] Around an hour and 54 minutes into the aforementioned video, the first audience member to ask a question asked Christopher Hitchens twice whether it is "good that the Bible prohibits humans from having sex with animals." Hitchens answered the question essentially by saying the Bible is not needed to stop humans from doing that, since we are genetically inclined against it and societies that do engage in such harmful behavior tend to die out, citing the example of cannibalistic societies that get kuru.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FofDChlSILU Christopher Hitchens vs William Lane Craig - Does God Exist Debate]</ref> Dr. Craig said the question posed to Hitchens was a good one and it helped illustrate that atheism cannot offer objective moral standards (see: [[Atheism and morality]]).<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FofDChlSILU Christopher Hitchens vs William Lane Craig - Does God Exist Debate] </ref>

==Opposition to Islam and Support of the War on Terror==

Christopher Hitchens became an activist against [[Islam]] when Ayatullah Kohmeini declared a [[fatwa]] against his personal friend [[Salman Rushdie]]. The event has led him to become very vocal in his support of the war in Iraq and heavily critical of Muslim society and ethics.

==Insults toward Jerry Falwell==
In a TV interview with Hannity and Colmes a day after [[Jerry Falwell]]'s death, Christopher Hitchens expressed his anger over Falwell's legacy, calling the media coverage of his death uniform in its "stupidity" and calling Falwell himself a "vulgar fraud and crook"<ref name=FAL>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doKkOSMaTk4</ref>. Hitchens went on to state such comments as "we have been rid of an extremely dangerous demagogue who lived by hatred of others and prejudice", "that it's a pity there isn't a hell for him to go to", "the evil he did will live after him", and "and I think his death is a deliverance" <ref name=FAL/>. [[Hannity]] said that such comments were "crude", "thoughtless", "mean", and "hateful."

==Select bibliography ==
*''Callaghan: The Road to Number Ten'' (Cassell, 1976)
*''Hostage to History: Cyprus From the Ottomans to Kissinger'' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989)
*''Imperial Spoils: The Case of the Parthenon Marbles'' (Hill and Wang, 1989)
*''Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies'' (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990)
*''The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice'' (Verso, 1995)
*''Prepared for the Worst'' (Hill and Wang, 1989)
*''For the Sake of Argument: Essays & Minority Reports'' (Verso, 1993)
*''No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family'' (Verso, 2000)
*''God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything'' - outside the US, published with the alternate subtitle ''The Case Against Religion'' (Atlantic, 2007)

Some other titles include: “Letters to a Young Contrarian,” “The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001)” and his memoir, “Hitch-22. [http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/12/christopher-hitchens-a-reading-list.html#ixzz1gi8RBrKh]

<blockquote>
“Stranger in a Strange Land”: In this piece that The Atlantic published two months after the attacks of 9/11, Hitchens summed up his break from the establishment left over the attacks and the war on terror that was then only beginning. [[Ibidem]]
</blockquote>

==Death==
Christopher Hitchens died on December 15, 2011. The media has reported that the cause of his death was pneumonia, a complication of oesophageal cancer.<ref>Minzesheimer, Bob. "Writer Christopher Hitchens dies at age 62." USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-12-16/obit-hitchens/51999910/1</ref> The cancer was likely caused by his heavy drinking and smoking.

==External links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1662757,00.html "Why Christopher Hitchens Is Wrong About Billy Graham"], Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, ''[[Time magazine]]'' Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2007

==References==
<references/>

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[[Category:Authors|Hitchens, Christopher]]

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