Duncan Steel
Encyclopedia
Dr Duncan I. Steel, BSc, MSc, DIC, PhD, FRAS (born 11 June 1955), is a British/Australian scientist born in Midsomer Norton
, Somerset
. He is a world-renowned space science
authority who has worked with NASA
to assess the threat of comet
and asteroid
collisions and investigate technologies to avert such impacts. He was Associate Professor in space technology
at the Joule Physics Laboratory, University of Salford
(1999–2003). He is also the author of four popular-level science books on space, and regularly writes for The Guardian
and various other newspapers and magazines. He was the discoverer of the main-belt asteroid 9767 Midsomer Norton
, plus another eleven minor planets.
Duncan was born within a few yards of the back row of seats in the Palladium Cinema (in the High Street of Midsomer Norton), where his father Ken Steel (b. 1929) started as rewind boy and finally had to close the establishment, as the owner, 49 years later. His mother Shirley Steel (b. 1932) was brought up in Parsons Newsagency in The Island and is currently a local Councillor.
There are five children of the Steel family. The eldest is Professor Karen Steel (b.1953), a geneticist who was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009, works at the Sanger Centre near Cambridge, and is married to Dr Simon Teague (one child: Sam). Next is Duncan. Following him is Melinda Dowling (b. 1958) who runs the Headlines hairdressers in the High Street, whilst her husband Dale operates Steels' Caravans in Radstock Road (three children: Abbie, Hollie and Jayson). The youngest daughter is Dr Ashley Steel (b. 1959) who lives in London with her partner Angie, and is a Partner at KPMG. Russell Steel (b. 1964) lives on Silver Street and operates a paintball game business at Hunstrete; he is married to Lyn (four children: Chelsea, Oliver, Brandon and Jarrad).
Duncan was married, first, to Margareta Olsson of Helsingborg, Sweden (1982–88; no children) and, second, to Helen Pope of Adelaide (1991–2005; sons Harry and Elliot). For some years he went by the name Olsson-Steel.
Outside the world of space science
, Duncan claims to have introduced the Sex Pistols
at their first completed concert (28 November 1975) at Queen Elizabeth College, and also The 101'ers (featuring Joe Strummer
later of The Clash
).
, Somerset
, where he attended Norton Hill School
(formerly Midsomer Norton Grammar School) from 1966-73. He was a member for many years of the 1st Midsomer Norton Scout Group. Amongst his various jobs were putting up the posters for the cinema, calling the bingo numbers, selling ice creams, delivering newspapers, and delivering bread for Smiths Bakeries (Wellow round). Before going up to college in London he worked in the family caravan business. At college he ran all the entertainments, including the bands, discos and films. In 1975 he travelled Europe by train and got as far south as Marrakech. In 1976 he worked on a summer camp in upstate New York. In 1977-78 he was a teacher (A-Level Physics) at a crammer college in central London. In 1978 he travelled around the US (40 states) and Canada by Greyhound bus, mostly with Ross Pratten (b.1955), son of Norman Pratten, Clerk of Norton-Radstock Council.
, studying as an undergraduate at Queen Elizabeth College (BSc in Physics and Astrophysics, 1977) and also University College, and as a graduate student at Queen Mary College (1977–78) and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology where he took an MSc and DIC (1978–79). From September 1979 to January 1982 he worked at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of the University of Colorado at Boulder. For the following three years he was at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand building a radar for meteor studies, being awarded a PhD degree in 1985. Between 1985 and 1996 he was associated with the University of Adelaide, South Australia, undertaking research in radar meteors, and asteroid and comet dynamics. In 1987-88 he was a European Space Agency Research Fellow at Lunds Observatoriet, Sweden. From 1990-95 he also worked at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, where he established and directed the only southern hemisphere program for the discovery and tracking of near-Earth asteroids. From 1988-99 he additionally ran his own companies, amongst them Spaceguard Australia P/L. In 1999-2003 he was at the University of Salford, UK. Since 2004 he has worked for Ball Aerospace Australia (now part of the QinetiQ Group) in Canberra, ACT. Duncan is also a Visiting Researcher at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at the University of NSW in Sydney.
He has been involved in investigations on small bodies in the solar system using optical telescopes, meteor radar systems, and theoretical techniques to investigate their dynamical evolution. Amongst his scientific achievements have been the identification of the first asteroid spinning so fast that it must be a monolith, the first identification of interstellar dust entering the atmosphere, and an influx of comet-derived meteoroids ablating high in the atmosphere that appear to be made of tarry organics. He is also interested in the astronomy and history of calendars, and the life of Charles Babbage
amongst many other things.
10107 Kenny - named for his father; 16578 Essjayess - named for his mother (her initials are SJS); 24734 Kareness - named for his elder sister; 55815 Melindakim - named for his middle sister; 58196 Ashleyess - named for his youngest sister; and 69311 Russ - named for his brother. However, his favourite naming is 7345 Happer
, which is named for the character Felix Happer in the movie Local Hero, who really wanted a comet to be named for him.
, Cheshire
, for four years before moving back to his current home in Australia. He has also lived in the USA, New Zealand , Australia and Sweden, and visited over sixty other countries.
He named the asteroids 5263 Arrius
and 6828 Elbsteel
after his sons Harrison Callum Bertram Steel (b.1992) and Elliot Lewis Barnaby Steel (b. 1995). Harry's asteroid couldn't be called Harrison because there was already one of those (George Harrison), and 'Arrius' was the title of a poem by Catullus that Bill Smith had Duncan translate in Latin class at MNGS (about a Roman who dropped his aitches); whilst Elliot's asteroid couldn't be called that because there was already one named Eliot (for T.S. Eliot).
Midsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. He is a world-renowned space science
Space science
The term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
authority who has worked with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
to assess the threat of comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
and asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
collisions and investigate technologies to avert such impacts. He was Associate Professor in space technology
Space technology
Space technology is technology that is related to entering, and retrieving objects or life forms from space."Every day" technologies such as weather forecasting, remote sensing, GPS systems, satellite television, and some long distance communications systems critically rely on space infrastructure...
at the Joule Physics Laboratory, University of Salford
University of Salford
The University of Salford is a campus university based in Salford, Greater Manchester, England with approximately 20,000 registered students. The main campus is about west of Manchester city centre, on the A6, opposite the former home of the physicist, James Prescott Joule and the Working Class...
(1999–2003). He is also the author of four popular-level science books on space, and regularly writes for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and various other newspapers and magazines. He was the discoverer of the main-belt asteroid 9767 Midsomer Norton
9767 Midsomer Norton
9767 Midsomer Norton is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered on March 10, 1992 by Duncan Steel at Siding Spring. It is one of very few asteroids located in the 2 : 1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter.- External links :*...
, plus another eleven minor planets.
Duncan was born within a few yards of the back row of seats in the Palladium Cinema (in the High Street of Midsomer Norton), where his father Ken Steel (b. 1929) started as rewind boy and finally had to close the establishment, as the owner, 49 years later. His mother Shirley Steel (b. 1932) was brought up in Parsons Newsagency in The Island and is currently a local Councillor.
There are five children of the Steel family. The eldest is Professor Karen Steel (b.1953), a geneticist who was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009, works at the Sanger Centre near Cambridge, and is married to Dr Simon Teague (one child: Sam). Next is Duncan. Following him is Melinda Dowling (b. 1958) who runs the Headlines hairdressers in the High Street, whilst her husband Dale operates Steels' Caravans in Radstock Road (three children: Abbie, Hollie and Jayson). The youngest daughter is Dr Ashley Steel (b. 1959) who lives in London with her partner Angie, and is a Partner at KPMG. Russell Steel (b. 1964) lives on Silver Street and operates a paintball game business at Hunstrete; he is married to Lyn (four children: Chelsea, Oliver, Brandon and Jarrad).
Duncan was married, first, to Margareta Olsson of Helsingborg, Sweden (1982–88; no children) and, second, to Helen Pope of Adelaide (1991–2005; sons Harry and Elliot). For some years he went by the name Olsson-Steel.
Outside the world of space science
Space science
The term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....
, Duncan claims to have introduced the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
at their first completed concert (28 November 1975) at Queen Elizabeth College, and also The 101'ers (featuring Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
later of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
).
Early life and career
Duncan was born and grew up in Midsomer NortonMidsomer Norton
Midsomer Norton is a town near the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, south-west of Bath, north-east of Wells, north-west of Frome, and south-east of Bristol. It has a population of 10,458. Along with Radstock and Westfield it used to be part of the conurbation and large civil parish of Norton...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, where he attended Norton Hill School
Norton Hill School
Norton Hill School is a state school with academy status in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, England. It was formerly the Midsomer Norton Grammar School....
(formerly Midsomer Norton Grammar School) from 1966-73. He was a member for many years of the 1st Midsomer Norton Scout Group. Amongst his various jobs were putting up the posters for the cinema, calling the bingo numbers, selling ice creams, delivering newspapers, and delivering bread for Smiths Bakeries (Wellow round). Before going up to college in London he worked in the family caravan business. At college he ran all the entertainments, including the bands, discos and films. In 1975 he travelled Europe by train and got as far south as Marrakech. In 1976 he worked on a summer camp in upstate New York. In 1977-78 he was a teacher (A-Level Physics) at a crammer college in central London. In 1978 he travelled around the US (40 states) and Canada by Greyhound bus, mostly with Ross Pratten (b.1955), son of Norman Pratten, Clerk of Norton-Radstock Council.
Later career
Duncan attended the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, studying as an undergraduate at Queen Elizabeth College (BSc in Physics and Astrophysics, 1977) and also University College, and as a graduate student at Queen Mary College (1977–78) and at the Imperial College of Science and Technology where he took an MSc and DIC (1978–79). From September 1979 to January 1982 he worked at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics of the University of Colorado at Boulder. For the following three years he was at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand building a radar for meteor studies, being awarded a PhD degree in 1985. Between 1985 and 1996 he was associated with the University of Adelaide, South Australia, undertaking research in radar meteors, and asteroid and comet dynamics. In 1987-88 he was a European Space Agency Research Fellow at Lunds Observatoriet, Sweden. From 1990-95 he also worked at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, where he established and directed the only southern hemisphere program for the discovery and tracking of near-Earth asteroids. From 1988-99 he additionally ran his own companies, amongst them Spaceguard Australia P/L. In 1999-2003 he was at the University of Salford, UK. Since 2004 he has worked for Ball Aerospace Australia (now part of the QinetiQ Group) in Canberra, ACT. Duncan is also a Visiting Researcher at the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at the University of NSW in Sydney.
He has been involved in investigations on small bodies in the solar system using optical telescopes, meteor radar systems, and theoretical techniques to investigate their dynamical evolution. Amongst his scientific achievements have been the identification of the first asteroid spinning so fast that it must be a monolith, the first identification of interstellar dust entering the atmosphere, and an influx of comet-derived meteoroids ablating high in the atmosphere that appear to be made of tarry organics. He is also interested in the astronomy and history of calendars, and the life of Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...
amongst many other things.
Books published
- Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets: The Search for the Million Megaton Menace That Threatens Life on Earth (Wiley, New York, 1995) (with a foreword by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
). - Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon Which Changed the Course of History (Headline, London, 1999 & 2000)
- Target Earth (Time Life 2000; Readers Digest 2001) (with an afterword by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
) - Marking Time: The Epic Quest to Invent the Perfect Calendar (Wiley, New York, 2000).
- Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History (National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2001)
Other achievements
- Duncan is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the International Astronomical Union.
- He has discovered a dozen asteroids (or minor planets) including the 9767 Midsomer Norton9767 Midsomer Norton9767 Midsomer Norton is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered on March 10, 1992 by Duncan Steel at Siding Spring. It is one of very few asteroids located in the 2 : 1 mean motion resonance with Jupiter.- External links :*...
, in 1992, which he named after his home town. Asteroid 4713 Steel4713 Steel4713 Steel is an inner main-belt asteroid discovered on August 26, 1989 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring and named after the space scientist Duncan Steel.- External links :*...
is named after him. - He also discovered the asteroids 5263 Arrius5263 Arrius-Orbital data:*Major Semiaxis: 3.1915889 AU*Eccentricity: 0.03009711*Inclination of orbit: 14.76288 degree *Perihelion length: 289.04562 degree *Longitude of Ascending Node: 226.65930 degree -External links:...
and 6828 Elbsteel6828 ElbsteelElbsteel is an asteroid. It was recorded on 12 November 1990 by Duncan Steel at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and named after his son, Elliot Lewis Barnaby Otto Lewis Johnson Magnus Lexington Fae Tang Steel...
which were named for his sons by the International Astronomical Union. Amongst his other discoveries are:
10107 Kenny - named for his father; 16578 Essjayess - named for his mother (her initials are SJS); 24734 Kareness - named for his elder sister; 55815 Melindakim - named for his middle sister; 58196 Ashleyess - named for his youngest sister; and 69311 Russ - named for his brother. However, his favourite naming is 7345 Happer
7345 Happer
7345 Happer is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on July 28, 1992 by Robert H. McNaught at Siding Spring. It is named after Felix Happer, the character played by Burt Lancaster in the film Local Hero, who wanted to find a comet to be named after him.- External links :*...
, which is named for the character Felix Happer in the movie Local Hero, who really wanted a comet to be named for him.
- There is a robot named after Duncan (viz. Robot Steel) in Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
’s novel The Hammer of GodThe Hammer of GodThe Hammer of God is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke originally published in 1993. It deals with an asteroid named Kali headed toward Earth. Captain Robert Singh of the spacecraft Goliath is sent to deflect it. Kali is discovered by Dr... - He has worked for both NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states... - He is author of 130 scientific papers and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles,
- He has appeared in many TV and radio programmes, including The Sky at NightThe Sky at NightThe Sky at Night is a monthly documentary television programme on astronomy produced by the BBC. The show has had the same permanent presenter, Sir Patrick Moore, from its first airing on 24 April 1957, making it the longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history.The...
, - Duncan was Science Adviser for the two-hour documentary 'Three Minutes to Impact', which won an Emmy in 1998.
- He was one of six foreign members of NASA’s Spaceguard committee in 1991-92 and was the only non-US member of the Near-Earth Object Interception and Deflection committee
- He was a member of the British Delegation to the OECD Global Science Forum conference on Near-Earth Objects, 2003.
Personal life
Duncan lived in KnutsfordKnutsford
Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, for four years before moving back to his current home in Australia. He has also lived in the USA, New Zealand , Australia and Sweden, and visited over sixty other countries.
He named the asteroids 5263 Arrius
5263 Arrius
-Orbital data:*Major Semiaxis: 3.1915889 AU*Eccentricity: 0.03009711*Inclination of orbit: 14.76288 degree *Perihelion length: 289.04562 degree *Longitude of Ascending Node: 226.65930 degree -External links:...
and 6828 Elbsteel
6828 Elbsteel
Elbsteel is an asteroid. It was recorded on 12 November 1990 by Duncan Steel at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia and named after his son, Elliot Lewis Barnaby Otto Lewis Johnson Magnus Lexington Fae Tang Steel...
after his sons Harrison Callum Bertram Steel (b.1992) and Elliot Lewis Barnaby Steel (b. 1995). Harry's asteroid couldn't be called Harrison because there was already one of those (George Harrison), and 'Arrius' was the title of a poem by Catullus that Bill Smith had Duncan translate in Latin class at MNGS (about a Roman who dropped his aitches); whilst Elliot's asteroid couldn't be called that because there was already one named Eliot (for T.S. Eliot).