Stephen P. Maran is an American astronomer andpopularizer who is known for his books,[1] articles, and popular lectures[2] for the general public, includingAstronomyFor Dummies.
Maran was born in Brooklyn, where he experienced astronomy by visiting theHayden Planetarium[3] and by viewing the sky from a deserted Bronx golf course.[4] He graduated from New York'sStuyvesant High School in 1955, then received the bachelor's degree in physics fromBrooklyn College in 1959.[5] His postgraduate work at theUniversity of Michigan earned him the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in astronomy in 1961 and 1964, respectively.[6] He is married to journalist Sally Scott Maran, with whom he has three children, Enid, Elissa, and Michael(deceased).[4]
Maran was an astrophysicist atNASA'sGoddard Space Flight Center for 35 years, from 1969-2004. During this time, he served as a staff scientist, Project Scientist, and Principal Investigator, and was involved in research on a number of missions, including theHubble Space Telescope. He was the Assistant Director of Space Sciences for Information and Outreach from 1995–2004, and was the original moderator for the NASA televised showSpace Astronomy Update, begun in 1991.[7][8]
He served for 25 years (1984-2009) as the Press Officer for theAmerican Astronomical Society.
Maran was awarded aNASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 1991. He is winner of the 1999Klumpke-Roberts Award,[9] the 2007George Van Biesbroeck Prize[10] and the 2011Andrew Gemant Award.[11]
Minor planet9768 Stephenmaran, discovered in 1992, was named in his honor by theInternational Astronomical Union