Mike Brotherton

(March 26, 1968 – )

Michael S. Brotherton is an astronomer and science fiction writer, author of the well-received novels Star Dragon (2003) and Spider Star (2008) from Tor Books. He is the founder of the NASA-funded Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers, which brings a dozen award-winning professional writers to Wyoming every summer.

He is professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming. Originally from the St. Louis, MO, area, Brotherton got his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Texas in 1996, and held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Kitt Peak National Observatory before moving to Laramie. His specialty is studying the supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies and how they shine when in the active phase. He is also interested in the relationship between such active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies, and their mutual evolution. His work is primarily observational, and he uses a wide assortment of telescopes/observatories operating across the electromagnetic spectrum. He also makes use of data archives such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 2011 — Windycon 38
• 2016 — FenCon XIII
• 2019 — COSine 2019
• 2021 — Boskone 58
• 2024 — Windycon 50

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Person

1968—

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