David Eicher

Background

About David Eicher

David Eicher is one of the most widely recognized astronomy enthusiasts in the world. He has been with Astronomy magazine for 41 years, beginning as an assistant editor and working through associate, senior, and managing positions. He has been the magazine’s chief editor since 2002. Dave has spoken widely to amateur astronomy groups, logged many hundreds of hours at the eyepiece, and written 15 books on astronomy. Among them are GALAXIES: Inside the Universe’s Star Cities (Penguin Random House); MISSION MOON 3-D (with Brian May, London Stereoscopic Co. and MIT Press), and THE NEW COSMOS: Answering Astronomy’s Big Questions (Cambridge University Press). Dave has also written 9 books on American history, including THE LONGEST NIGHT: A Military History of the Civil War (Simon and Schuster), DIXIE BETRAYED: How the South Really Lost the Civil War (Little, Brown), and CIVIL WAR HIGH COMMANDS (with John H. Eicher, Stanford University Press). He has spoken to many science and business groups around the world, including locations with his collaborator Brian May, and at Harvard University, the Starmus Festival, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 1977, Dave founded and began editing the magazine Deep Sky Monthly. Five years later, the publication moved with Dave to Milwaukee, turned quarterly, and was renamed Deep Sky, which was issued regularly until 1992. In addition to his book writing, Dave has written or edited hundreds of articles on all facets of astronomy, science and hobby. In 1990, the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet, 3617 Eicher, for Dave in recognition of his service to astronomy. Dave has appeared on CNN, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, National Public Radio, and other media outlets to promote the science and hobby of astronomy. He has written planetarium shows for Adler Planetarium in Chicago and film scripts for NASA.