Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958-) is an astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, TV host and one of the current rockstars of the science world. He’s gained mainstream and pop-culture fame thanks to his books, TV show and frequent appearances on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. After I discovered the work of Carl Sagan, I was desperate to find a modern equivalent who could keep giving me a science fix and Tyson was the name I kept coming across. Like Sagan, Tyson has the ability to communicate the wonders of science to a mainstream audience with charisma and a sense of humour. It’s fitting then that Tyson will be hosting the upcoming sequel to Sagan’s iconic series Cosmos, which I can’t wait to see. Tyson also has a great podcast, StarTalk Radio, which I listen to frequently while I’m drawing.

– I kept putting off trying to adapt this quote because it was too intimidating. I knew that it would require me to draw stars and planets which I’m not very comfortable with, but I loved the quote so much that I just had to try it. I spent a lot longer than usual working on the cosmic scenes and I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. I guess I was also inspired by the film The Tree of Life which connects the story of a family with the history of the Universe. I still haven’t decided if I like that film or not.

– Thanks to Tanya for submitting this quote. Tyson said it in an interview with Time magazine and it’s been adapted into this sweet video montage.

– My hypothetical (living) science rockstars band: Neil Tyson (lead vocals), Richard Dawkins (guitar), Stephen Hawking (synthesiser), Michio Kaku (drums), Brian Cox (keyboard – which he actually played in real pop band). Am I missing anyone?

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