Robert Jastrow, 1925 - 2008

Remembering Robert Jastrow: a key figure in promoting astronomy to the public, whose work influenced many at a tender age.

ByPhil Plait
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I just heard that astronomer Robert Jastrow died last week. I never met him, but I remember reading his book Red Giants and White Dwarfs when I was a kid; it was a pretty popular book in its day, and I'm sure it influenced me at a tender age. Jastrow was fairly outspoken on a number of topics, and while I disagreed with him on some of them (particularly his views of science and religion), I'm glad that he was one of the few astronomers who was out there promoting astronomy to the public.

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