In the Dark

I am once again very sorry to have to pass on some sad news. Astronomer David Hughes (formerly of Sheffield University) passed away suddenly on Monday 6th June at the age of 80.

Born in Nottinghamshire, David did his first degree at Birmingham University and his DPhil in Oxford. He moved to Sheffield in 1965 and worked there until he retired in 2007.

David was an expert on the Solar System, especially its minor bodies, such as asteroids and comets; the Mars-crossing asteroid 4205 David Hughes is named in honour of his many achievements. He was also very knowledgeable about the history of astronomy and the threat to Earth from meteors and other impact phenomena. An ebullient public speaker, he was much in demand as a guest on TV programmes, as well as giving lectures on cruise ships and talks to amateur astronomical societies and lay audiences. Through these activities he did a huge amount for the popularization of astronomy especially in the UK.

I send my condolences to his family, friends and colleagues both in Sheffield and around the world.

R.I.P. David W Hughes (1941-2022)

This entry was posted on June 9, 2022 at 5:14 pm and is filed under The Universe and Stuff with tags astronomy, David W Hughes, Solar System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.