Astronomy / Space Your favorite living popular Astrophysics?

[Orbitalai]

So, who would you rather attend a lecture at? Or have narrate a TV show on National Geo channel etc etc.

And did only include those that I know of make good videos, not so much books.

Sorry in advance if I did not include your favourite.

List of people I missed: (updating it from your replies)
----------------------
Dr. Wookie (2 votes)
Martin Rees (1 vote)
Rajesh Koothrappali (1 vote)

 

[Geraldine]

Dr Wookie of course!

 

[Orbitalai]

Hmm, how did you manage to reply to the post before I even had posted it, I was still filling out the poll when you posted..

 

[Geraldine]

Mystical Moderation powers

 

[Orbitalai]

Mystical Moderation powers

Cool, can you also increase the poll size to 21, and include him? *puppy eyes*

 

[Geraldine]

I am sorry Orbitalai, but puppy eyes don't work on me as I am half blind, half deaf and riddled with arthritis. Strangely it helps me be a better mod somehow. :S However, if you do get Dr Wookie to agree, I will see what I can do. Be aware though, 20 options is the max you can have

 

[Orbitalai]

However, if you do get Dr Wookie to agree, I will see what I can do.

I did not ask the others for permission, but since he is in the forums, I can see why he would want to be asked. Will try.

Be aware though, 20 options is the max you can have

Okay, can lump Antonio Padilla, Roger Bowley and Ed Copeland together as the (Sixty Symbols Bunch or something like that), since they are often in the same shows anyway (http://www.sixtysymbols.com).

 

[Slawkenbergius]

I enjoyed the lecture I went to by Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal.

 

[Darren Grey]

Only 2 of those people are actually astrophysicists. There's a few cosmologists, but most are theoretical physicists.

My vote has to be for Dr Wookie...

 

[Orbitalai]

Only 2 of those people are actually astrophysicists. There's a few cosmologists, but most are theoretical physicists.

Alright, is probably because I find their way of presenting the stuff more interesting. I am also not really so interested in the solar system, which other people goes on about for hours. For example the 18½ hours video series from Mark Whittle I find great introduction to Cosmology.

But still, many of those people have talked about astro stuff, that others seem to not even try to educate the public in (in videos anyway), and they are seem interested in getting the public interested in it, instead of just lecture and research (not that I find anything wrong with that though).

For example when people talk about dark matter, they mostly mention WIMPs and modified gravitation models. I then found Sean Carroll, who also talks about Lightest Kaluza Klein Particles, Axions, etc.

Anyway, I warned that the list is biased, and largely based on what I have happened to stumble upon.

 

[Orbitalai]

Field list

Curiosity got the better of me and I made a list, listing the field that seems most closely related to Astrophysics: (might be inaccurate as many of them does not even list all the fields they have an degree in)

Sean Carroll - Astrophysics
Neil deGrasse Tyson - Astrophysics
Alex Filippenko - Astrophysics
Brian Greene - Astroparticle Physics
Mark Whittle - Astronomy

Stephen Hawking - Cosmology
Lawrence Krauss - Cosmology
Lisa Randall - Cosmology

Brian Cox - Particle physics
Michio Kaku - Physics
Frank Wilczek - Theoretical Physics

The Sixty Symbols group:
Antonio Padilla - Particle Physics (based on titles of his publications)
Roger Bowley - Physics and Astronomy?
Ed Copeland - Particle cosmologist


Anyway, I find they are all great at communicating Astrophysical subjects to the general public.

 

[Darren Grey]

I was mostly splitting hairs Also a few of your cosmologists are actually theoretical physicists (cosmology is often an application of theoretical physics). And astronomy isn't the same as astrophysics.

 

[JohnStabler]

Why limit it to living people? Is it simply because Carl Sagan would trash all the competition?

 

[Orbitalai]

Also a few of your cosmologists are actually theoretical physicists (cosmology is often an application of theoretical physics).

Okay.

But it looked like those who were that had also taken an degree in cosmology. From what I could see from their websites.

Besides, those who seemed to be both, I did list Cosmology at.

 

[LCplCombat]

You missed Rajesh Koothrappali off the list

 

[Orbitalai]

Why limit it to living people? Is it simply because Carl Sagan would trash all the competition?

Hehe. Mostly because I don't know anyone of them, heard Sagan's name plenty of times the last 10 years, might even have seen something when I was much younger, but back then did not focus on who had made what I was watching.

Same with books I read about astronomy, just read them, had no clue who wrote them. :S

I guess it is too late now, astronomy has really changed from what I read as a child. Those books seem almost worthless today, they were probably already dated when I read them.

 

[Orbitalai]

However, if you do get Dr Wookie to agree, I will see what I can do.

He agreed.

 

[Geraldine]

Very well, polled edited and I voted too.

 

[Frank]

Why limit it to living people? Is it simply because Carl Sagan would trash all the competition?

That depends on whether they'd let Richard Feynman on the list as well.

 

[Giskard]

Yes! Feynman was amazing. I love his infectious enthusiasm and the way he used to write.

I really enjoyed his book, 'The Pleasure of Finding Things Out'. Superb.