The sky is not the limit : adventures of an urban astrophysicist

206 Pages·2004·3.2 MB·English

Table of Contents

ALSO BY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON:
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
PREFACE
Acknowledgements
Epigraph
Introduction
Chapter 1. - NIGHT VISION

The Early Years
The Middle Years
The Later Years

Chapter 2. - SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER
Chapter 3. - SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURES
Chapter 4. - DARK MATTERS
Chapter 5. - ROMANCING THE COSMOS
Chapter 6. - THE END OF THE WORLD
Chapter 7. - GOD AND THE ASTRONOMERS

INDEX.
ALSO BY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON:

MERLIN’S TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE

UNIVERSE DOWN TO EARTH

JUST VISITING THIS PLANET

ONE UNIVERSE: AT HOME IN THE COSMOS
(with Charles Liu and Robert Irion)

COSMIC HORIZONS
(with Steven Soter, Editors)

ORIGINS: FOURTEEN BILLION YEARS OF COSMIC EVOLUTION
(with Donald Goldsmith)

Published 2004 by Prometheus Books

The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist. Copyright © 2004 by Neil deGrasse
Tyson. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without prior written
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tyson, Neil deGrasse.
The sky is not the limit : adventures of an urban astrophysicist / Neil deGrasse Tyson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-59102-188-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Tyson, Neil deGrasse. 2. Astrophysicists—United States—
Biography. I. Title.
QB460.72.T97A3 2004
523.01’092—dc22
2004003989

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For Miranda and Travis

In the hope that the stars for which they reach sit higher and brighter than any I
have known.
PREFACE

Memoirs are both easy and hard to write. The material was all there—the details
of my scientific journeys were either stored in my memory or retrieved from
rather extensive records I have kept from early childhood. I could easily
assemble the interesting parts and write about them.
But I am neither a movie star nor a sports celebrity, nor am I an important
political figure. These various professions make fertile lifestyles for the memoir
format and typically attract wide readership. In my case, however, I am just a
scientist—an astrophysicist—who has tried to bring the universe down to Earth
for everybody who wanted to have a look. And, in what I consider a privilege, I
have also tried to elevate public literacy in science.
Why then might you be interested in my story?
In these pages, I share what I believe to be amusing and playful moments of
my life in the cosmos. But I also share the segments of my life’s path that got me
here, which, for the most part, tacked against the winds of society. The paths
include fond memories of mentors—some of whom were ordinary people doing
extraordinary things while others were extraordinary people doing ordinary
things—and the retelling of traumatic moments where my will, my life’s goals,
and my sense of identity were tested to their limits.
Regardless of what you may seek in my or anyone else’s memoir, I can
promise you that The Sky Is Not the Limit will bring you closer to the universe of
ambition; and, as is my life’s commitment, bring you closer to the universe
itself.

Neil deGrasse Tyson
New York City
April 2004
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Of the hundreds of people who have been there for me over the years, I single
out my wife, Alice; my father, Cyril; my mother, Sunchita; my brother, Stephen
Sr.; and my sister, Lynn. Through their continual love and support, they have
collectively supplied an emotional and intellectual buoyancy to my life’s
journeys. By way of their advice, wisdom, and guidance, I have cleared life’s
hurdles and survived life’s challenges. For this, I owe them more than I have the
capacity to express.
Betsy Lerner, my editor, has supported my writings and has observed my
career since my later years in graduate school. She alone encouraged me to write
this memoir and I am thankful for her persistence, in spite of my stubborn
apprehensions about undertaking such a project.
Portions of chapters 5 and 7 are adapted from essays that touched upon my
life and were originally written for Natural History magazine under my column
titled “Universe.”
Beyond the judgments of others
Rising high above the sky
Lies the power of ambition

—Neil deGrasse Tyson