Steven Soter

Steven Soter
Fields	Physical cosmology, Astrophysics
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles (Astronomy & physics) Cornell University (Ph.D)
Doctoral advisors	Thomas Gold, Carl Sagan, Joseph Burns
Known for	Cosmos: A Personal Voyage Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Influences	Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson
Notable awards	Primetime Emmy Award (for writing of Cosmos)

Steven Soter is an astrophysicist currently holding the positions of scientist-in-residence for New York University's Environmental Studies Program and of Research Associate for the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is a proponent of the International Astronomical Union's definition of planet.

Soter received his Bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from UCLA in 1965 (advisors George Abell and Peter Goldreich) and his doctorate in astronomy from Cornell University in 1971 (advisors Thomas Gold, Carl Sagan, and Joseph Burns).

In 1974, Soter suggested that dust produced by meteoritic bombardment of Saturn's moon Phoebe might orbit the planet until colliding with Saturn's moon Iapetus and be responsible for the unique dark-bright dichotomy of the latter. Although not the unique cause, dust originating from Saturn's irregular satellites was later found in data from the Cassini spacecraft to indeed play a crucial role in the coloration of Iapetus. The discovery of Saturn's "Phoebe ring" in 2009 further strengthened the probability that this process first described by Soter plays a significant role in shaping Iapetus's appearance.

In 1977-1979, Soter co-wrote, along with Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan's monumental 1980 astronomy documentary series Cosmos. Since then, he has also acted as advisor on a number of science documentaries, such as the IMAX films Blue Planet and Cosmic Voyage.

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