Passage II

Stars in His Eyes

Some people are starstruck at an early age, but one such person is Neil de Grasse Tyson, whom turned his fascination for the star-studded sky into a career. By the age of nine, with the knowledge that he wanted to spend his life exploring the universe. Today, Tyson is a prominent astrophysicist, writer, and educator. He is also the youngest person and the first African American to direct New York City's Hayden Planetarium.

In his memoir, The Sky Is Not the Limit, Tyson tells the story of how he was first captivated by the cosmos. A close friend from his Bronx, New York, neighborhood took him to the rooftop of a building, there Tyson was told to look up into the night sky. Through a simple pair of binoculars, Tyson viewed the Moon as an exciting new three-dimensional world that astounded him. From that point on, his interest in becoming a scientist was set.

[1] In junior high, Tyson bought his first telescope with money he had earned walking his neighbors' dogs. [2] To further prepare for his future career, he joined astronomy clubs, took extra mathematics courses, and spent many hours looking up at the star-filled dome inside the planetarium that he now oversees. [3] While earning university degrees in both physics and astrophysics, he worked as a columnist for StarDate, an astronomy magazine. [4]In 1988, he published the first of his numerous books on astronomy and astrophysics. [5]Soon after he was appointed director of the Hayden Planetarium in 1996, Tyson spearheaded a seventy-million-dollar reconstruction project. [6] Under his leadership, the New YorkCity landmark was transformed, one at a time, into a high-tech glass-and-steel wonder. [7] Visitors to the planetarium's Space Theater can now view the marvels of the cosmos through a dramatic virtual tour.(26)

Tyson recognizes the possibilities of his position he always makes himself available to children who visit the planetarium. Committed to being a leader in the field of science education, he has achieved what for many would be a dream come true.