Have you ever stared into the night sky, full of stars and planets? As a kid, Neil deGrasse Tyson was star-struck when he first visited a planetarium. The universe was calling him.

Tyson pursued his interest in astronomy and studied to be an astrophysicist. In 1996, he became the director of New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He is passionate about teaching people about the universe. Known for making science fun and easy to understand, he has hosted and appeared on TV shows such as Nova ScienceNow and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He even has more than one million Twitter followers! But how did he get there? Follow his path from fascinated kid to popular space expert.