Neil deGrasse Tyson is bringing a “Cosmic Perspective” to Des Moines

Sometimes, if you're lucky, you leave a meeting or a conversation with someone and just feel smarter. They've gotten through to you in such a clearly communicated, accessible manner that you come away feeling as if you've learned something you can actively apply to your own life.

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of those people. He's set to bless us with his incredible intelligence when he comes to Des Moines on Tuesday, April 5th.

Dr. Tyson is coming to the Des Moines Civic Center as part of his "Cosmic Perspective" tour!

"The Cosmic Perspective" tour deals with the idea that "there is no view of the world as emotionally potent as the one granted by a cosmic perspective," as stated on the Civic Center's website. Said perspective is one that sees Earth as a planet in a large, empty universe, and it influences our lives on a scientific, cultural, and political level.

Dr. Tyson has been a favorite on talk shows, political shows, and educational TV for years. Like his contemporary, Bill Nye the Science Guy, he's been able to successfully broaden his appeal beyond academia and scholarly settings in an effort to democratize knowledge about space and the cosmos. He has the rare talent of making scientific data and research accessible for the common person.

The 63-year-old rose to popularity when he hosted the PBS show NOVA ScienceNow. In 2014, he hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, which served as a successor to Carl Sagan's popular program Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. That show ran in 1980.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is only the fifth head of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City since its inception in 1935. He's also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

For more information on the event, and Neil deGrasse Tyson himself, you can visit the Des Moines Performing Arts' website, where you can also purchase tickets!