Mr. Percival
Pd. 00
30 Apr. 2010
David Levy
David Levy is a Canadian astronomer who was born in 1948. He married Wendee Wallach-Levy on March 23rd, 1997. He has attended a multitude of universities, including McGill University, Acadia University, Queen’s University, University of Arizona, the University of Tampa, and Hebrew University, where he just in the last few months finished studying and earned a doctorate. Levy has discovered 22 comets, including Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which impacted Jupiter. Levy is also a prolific author and has made a big impact on recent astronomy.
David Levy’s biggest impact on astronomy has come through the study of comets. He ranks third in history in the amount of comets discovered by one person. Altogether, he has discovered twenty-two comets, including nine in his own backyard. The other comets he discovered as part of a team composed of himself, his wife, and Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker. He even aided in the discovery of two other comets, although he is not given credit as one of the discoverers. Levy is the first person to ever discover comets using three different methods: visual, photographic, and electronic observations.
Although Levy is most famous for his numerous discoveries of comets, he has also found many asteroids. His first asteroid discovery was that of asteroid 5261 Eureka. This asteroid was not only the first asteroid Levy discovered, but was also the first Martian Trojan asteroid ever discovered. The Trojan asteroids share Mars’ orbit, so Levy can indirectly be credited with leading to the discovery of all of the Martian Trojan asteroids that we know of today. Together, with Tom Glinos and his wife Wendee, David Levy has discovered over 60 asteroids.
Levy’s most famous discovery was that of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Shoemaker-Levy 9 was a periodic comet, meaning that its orbital period was 200 years or less. The comet was discovered in 1993 at the Palomar Observatory in California. The comet was the first comet to ever be discovered orbiting a planet instead of the Sun. It is believed that about twenty to thirty years prior to its discovery it had approached too close to Jupiter and had been captured by the gas giant. When the comet was discovered, it had an odd shape that could only be explained by a close encounter with Jupiter in which Jupiter’s tidal forces pulled the comet apart. As astronomers continued to study the comet, it was concluded that the comet would collide with Jupiter in July of 1994. This would be the first collision ever visually observed between two objects in our solar system or in space. Astronomers were ecstatic over the possibility of being able to see deeper into the atmosphere of Jupiter. The collisions occurred on the side of Jupiter invisible to Earth, but the collision sites were visible moments after the impact due to Jupiter’s fast rotation rate. Overall, 21 distinct impacts were observed over a six day period and the collisions formed dark, round spots that were as easy to see as the Great Red Spot and that stayed visible for months after the impacts. The discovery and subsequent impact of the comet shot Levy into instant stardom. He became a household name for several years and was bombarded with requests to do interviews for all of the major television networks.
Levy currently hosts his own radio talk show on astronomy, has written 35 books on a multitude of subjects, mostly on astronomy, is the President of the National Sharing of the Sky Foundation, and is part of the Jarnac Comet Survey in Vail, Arizona. He has received numerous awards for his many astronomical achievements, but he will be forever known for his greatest accomplishment, the discovery of Shoemaker-Levy 9.
Works Cited
"About David." Welcome. 2004. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
Arnett, Bill. "SL9." The Nine Planets Solar System Tour. 24 July 1997. Web. 30 Apr. 2010.
“David H. Levy.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Onlne. 29 Apr. 2010 < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/338050/David-H-Levy>.
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