Zoltan Levay
I have been pursuing astronomy and photography most of my life. As far back as high school I was observing the sky and taking photographs through a home-built telescope and processing photographs in a home darkroom. I earned university degrees in astronomy and worked with several space science missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. For over 35 years I was professionally involved with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope mission at the Space Telescope Science Institute. For most of that time I was responsible for translating science data into images and graphics that illustrate Hubble’s discoveries for the public, balancing science content with aesthetics. I produced some of the most remarkable, profound, and widely distributed Hubble images and has described this work in public talks, magazine articles, books and documentaries. I have also pursued a wide range of photographic interests, exhibited in galleries and won awards in photography competitions. Current, ongoing personal photography projects include seeking out dark, clear skies to explore the relationships between landscapes, the night sky, and the cosmos.