David H. Levy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David H. Levy
Giving a lecture at JPL in 1994
Born	(1948-05-22) May 22, 1948 (age 77) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Alma mater	Acadia (Nova Scotia) University (B.A.); Queens University (Kingston, Ontario) (M.A.); Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Ph.D.)
Known for	Co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Spouse(s)	Wendee Esther Wallach-Levy

David Howard Levy, born on May 22, 1948, is a Canadian astronomer and a talented science writer. He is famous for finding many comets and minor planets. One of his most well-known discoveries was Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. He helped find this comet in 1993, and it later crashed into the giant planet Jupiter in 1994.

David Levy's Life and Discoveries

Early Life and Education

David Levy was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1948. From a young age, he was very interested in space and the stars. Even though he loved astronomy, he first studied English literature. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in this subject. Later, in 2011, he received a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His Ph.D. was for his research on how the sky and space were mentioned in old English writings from the late 1500s and early 1600s.

Finding Comets and Writing Books

David Levy has discovered a total of 23 comets. Some he found by himself, and others he found with a team, including Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker. He has also written 34 books, mostly about astronomy. Some of his books include The Quest for Comets and a book about Pluto's discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh. He also wrote Shoemaker by Levy, which is a tribute to Gene Shoemaker.

Levy has also written articles for popular magazines like Sky and Telescope, Parade Magazine, and Astronomy Magazine.

Some of the comets he helped discover that come back regularly include 118P/Shoemaker–Levy, 129P/Shoemaker–Levy, and 137P/Shoemaker–Levy. He also found two comets all by himself: 255P/Levy and P/1991 L3.

Sharing His Knowledge

Since 2015, David Levy has been sharing his amazing collection of notes. These include his observing logs, which he has kept since 1956, and his personal journals since 1958. He also has records of his comet searches from 1965. He has given these important documents to the Linda Hall Library of Science Library in Kansas City. His observing records can also be found online through the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

David Levy lives in Vail, Arizona. He was married to Wendee Levy from 1997 until she passed away in 2022. They used to host a weekly online radio show about astronomy together.

In June 2019, David Levy's autobiography, "A Nightwatchman's journey: the Road Not Taken," was published.

Awards and Recognition

David Levy has received many awards for his work. An asteroid, 3673 Levy, was named after him, which is a very special honor!

He received the C.A. Chant Medal in 1980 from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. In 1990, he was given the G. Bruce Blair Medal. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific gave him their Amateur Achievement Award in 1993. In 2007, he won the Edgar Wilson Award for finding new comets. Also, in 2008, he helped design a special telescope called "The Comet Hunter."

David Levy also won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in 1998. He won it for writing the script of a documentary called 3 Minutes to Impact, which was shown on the Discovery Channel.

What David Levy Discovered

David Levy has discovered many objects in space.

Comets

He has found comets in two main ways:

Visual Discoveries

These are comets he found by looking through a telescope:

• Comet Levy-Rudenko, found in 1984
• Comet Levy, found in 1987 (two different ones!)
• Comet Levy, found in 1988
• Comet Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko, found in 1989
• Comet Levy, found in 1990
• Periodic Comet Levy, P/1991 L3, found in 1991
• Comet Takamizawa-Levy, found in 1994
• Periodic Comet 255P/Levy, found in 2006

Photographic Discoveries

These comets were found using photographs, as part of a team with Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy:

• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1, found in 1990
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 2, found in 1990
• Comet Shoemaker-Levy, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 4, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 5, found in 1991
• Comet Shoemaker-Levy, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 6, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 7, found in 1991
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 8, found in 1992
• Periodic Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, found in 1993 (the famous one that hit Jupiter!)
• Comet Shoemaker-Levy, found in 1993
• Comet Shoemaker-Levy, found in 1994
• Comet Jarnac, found in 2010 (with David Levy, Wendee Levy, Tom Glinos)

Other Discoveries

David Levy also made other important discoveries:

• Nova Cygni 1975, a bright new star, found in 1975
• Nova Cygni 1978, another new star, found in 1978
• Comet Hartley-IRAS, found in 1983
• He helped discover Comet Shoemaker 1992y in 1992
• He helped discover Periodic Comet Shoemaker 4 in 1994
• Asteroid (5261) Eureka, which is a special type of asteroid called a Mars Trojan, found with Henry E. Holt in 1990.
• He also helped understand that a star called TV Corvi (Tombaugh's Star) has very strong, repeated outbursts.

Minor Planets

David Levy has discovered many minor planets, which are small objects orbiting the Sun, not as big as planets. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: David Levy (astrónomo) para niños

• Carolyn S. Shoemaker
• Eugene Merle Shoemaker
• List of minor planet discoverers