Dr. Steven Soter, PhD, is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is a vocal proponent of the International Astronomical Union's controversial 2006 definition of planet.
Soter received his Bachelors degree in astronomy and physics from UCLA in 1965 an...
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Dr. Steven Soter, PhD, is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is a vocal proponent of the International Astronomical Union's controversial 2006 definition of planet.
Soter received his Bachelors degree in astronomy and physics from UCLA in 1965 and his doctorate in astronomy from Cornell University. One of his advisors was popular astronomer Carl Sagan.
In 1974, Soter suggested that dust produced by meteoritic bombardment of Saturn's moon Phoebe might orbit the planet until colliding with Saturn's moon Iapetus and be responsible for the unique two-toned coloration of the latter. Saturn's "Phoebe ring", discovered in 2009, validated this prediction.
In 1977-1979, he co-wrote Carl Sagan's monumental 1980 astronomy documentary series Cosmos. Since then, he has also acted as advisor on a...
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