Knut Jørgen Røed Ødegaard (born 6 May 1966) is a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 formerly employed as a media contact at the University of Oslo

University of Oslo

The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...

's Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics. He was the leader of the Norwegian Astronomical Society (2005–2008), and is also manager of the Harestua Solar Observatory

Harestua Solar Observatory

Harestua Solar Observatory is a solar observatory near Harestua in the municipality of Lunner, Oppland, Norway.It was used for solar research purposes from 1954 to 1986, and was subordinated the University of Oslo. From 1987 it was used for public courses, eventually run by astronomer Knut Jørgen...

.

His enthusiasm for astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 has made him a popular interview object in Norwegian media for events such as the 2004 Transit of Venus

Transit of Venus, 2004

The most recent transit of Venus when observed from Earth took place on June 8, 2004. The event received significant attention, since it was the first Venus transit to take place after the invention of broadcast media...

 and the 2005 landing of the Huygens probe

Huygens probe

The Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens....

 on Titan

Titan (moon)

Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....

, and for astronomy in general towards the general population.