When Neil deGrasse Tyson was 9 years old, he visited the Hayden Planetarium for the first time. Growing up gazing into light pollution in the Bronx, he had no idea there were that many stars.
“I was starstruck,” Tyson says, of that first visit. “But maybe it was the universe that chose me rather than it being I who chose the universe, because I was never the same.”
For just as long, he’s dreamed of being abducted by aliens. He especially feels this when he’s alone in a park with a clear view of the sky, the astrophysicist and science communicator tells USA TODAY. He can picture the beams coming down to collect him.
This lifelong dream is the basis of his new book, “Take Me To Your Leader,” out now from Simon Six. There are tips for what to do if you meet an alien. There’s critique of Hollywood alien depictions. He calls it a “celebration of people’s enthusiasm” for extraterrestrials. In fact, Tyson says he wants us to “demand an alien.”
“We need better evidence than your testimony to go from ‘I believe in aliens’ to ‘I know that aliens exist.’ And that transition requires somebody bringing forth an alien,” Tyson says.
