Steven Soteris an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence forNew York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at theAmerican Museum of Natural History.He is a proponent of theInternational Astronomical Union'sdefinition of planet.
Steven Soter | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1943 |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles(Astronomy & physics) Cornell University(Ph.D) |
| Known for | Cosmos: A Personal Voyage,Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey |
| Awards | Primetime Emmy Award(for writing ofCosmos) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical cosmology,astrophysics |
| Doctoral advisors | Thomas Gold,Carl Sagan,Joseph Burns |
Education
editSoter received hisbachelor's degreein astronomy and physics fromUCLAin 1965 (advisorsGeorge AbellandPeter Goldreich) and his doctorate in astronomy fromCornell Universityin 1971 (advisorsThomas Gold,Carl Sagan,andJoseph Burns).
Career in astrophysics
editIn 1974, Soter suggested that dust produced by meteoritic bombardment of Saturn's moonPhoebemight orbit the planet until colliding with Saturn's moonIapetusand be responsible for the unique dark-bright dichotomy of the latter. Although not the unique cause, dust originating fromSaturn'sirregular satelliteswas later found in data from theCassini spacecraftto indeed play a crucial role in the coloration ofIapetus.[1][2]The discovery of Saturn's "Phoebe ring"in 2009 further strengthened the probability that this process first described by Soter plays a significant role in shapingIapetus's appearance.[3][4]
In 1977-1979, Soter co-wrote, along with Carl Sagan andAnn Druyan,Carl Sagan's monumental 1980 astronomy documentary seriesCosmos.Since then, he has also acted as advisor on a number of science documentaries, such as the IMAX filmsBlue PlanetandCosmic Voyage.
In 1997, Soter took a position at theAmerican Museum of Natural History'sHayden Planetarium,and eventually progressed to the position of research associate. He also made significant contributions to research related to the ancient Greek cityHelike.
In 2007, after the IAU voted on adefinition of planet,Soter published an article[5]inScientific Americanin which he outlined a mathematical formulation, the "planetary discriminant," to describe how the IAU's requirement that a planet must have "cleared its neighborhood"of other objects might be applied in practice. He had already written a more technical article on the same subject in 2006, submitted toThe Astronomical Journalbefore the IAU resolution.[6]
In 2014, he partnered with Druyan again to co-write a new television miniseries,Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey,hosted by his AMNH colleagueNeil deGrasse Tyson.
References
edit- ^Denk, Tilmann; Neukum, Gerhard; Roatsch, Thomas; Porco, Carolyn C.; Burns, Joseph A.; Galuba, Götz G.; Schmedemann, Nico; Helfenstein, Paul; Thomas, Peter C. (2010-01-22). "Iapetus: Unique Surface Properties and a Global Color Dichotomy from Cassini Imaging".Science.327(5964): 435–439.Bibcode:2010Sci...327..435D.doi:10.1126/science.1177088.PMID20007863.S2CID165865.
- ^Spencer, John R.; Denk, Tilmann (2010-01-22). "Formation of Iapetus' Extreme Albedo Dichotomy by Exogenically Triggered Thermal Ice Migration".Science.327(5964): 432–435.Bibcode:2010Sci...327..432S.CiteSeerX10.1.1.651.4218.doi:10.1126/science.1177132.PMID20007862.S2CID20663944.
- ^Verbiscer, Anne; Skrutskie, Michael; Hamilton, Douglas (2009-10-07). "Saturn's largest ring".Nature.461(7267): 1098–100.Bibcode:2009Natur.461.1098V.doi:10.1038/nature08515.PMID19812546.S2CID4349726.
- ^Cowen, Rob (2009-10-06)."Largest known planetary ring discovered".Science News.
- ^Soter, Steven (2007)."What Is a Planet?"(PDF).Scientific American.296(1): 34–41.arXiv:astro-ph/0608359.Bibcode:2007SciAm.296a..34S.doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0107-34.PMID17186831.
- ^Soter, Steven (2006). "What Is a Planet?".The Astronomical Journal.132(6): 2513–2519.arXiv:astro-ph/0608359.Bibcode:2006AJ....132.2513S.doi:10.1086/508861.ISSN0004-6256.S2CID14676169.
External links
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