Famous People Wandering the Halls of AAS

By Nancy Atkinson - June 2, 2008 at 1:38 PM UTC | Site News
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Walking the halls of the AAS meetings we found Galileo Galilei, who actually looks pretty good for being 440 years old. He had a briefing with officials from the inquisition (the media) and said that he has just returned from Rome on his book tour, promoting Sidereus Nuncius (Starry Messenger). But here, he met up with another author, Dava Sobel, who wrote “Galileo’s Daughter,†and is in St. Louis to speak at a public lecture in conjunction with the AAS meeting.

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) which celebrates 400 years since Galileo looked through his telescope, is being promoted heavily here at the AAS meeting, which includes educational workshops and symposiums sponsored by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, highlighting special educational programs specifically created for IYA.

Speaking of education, Galileo says that being a professor is difficult. "The work is hard and the pay is terrible,†he said. "I’m looking to invent something here during the next year which might give me some fame.â€

Galileo was played by Mark Thompson, an impersonator who actually is an amateur astronomer. Although he kind of transited back and forth to the present and the past, he said he's currently living in IYA time, which means he hasn't yet built his telescope. That will happen coming up next year.

More information about Mark Thompson as Galileo.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com