Scott Manley

Last updated

Scott Manley
Scott Manley in 2022 by Christopher Michel 5.jpg
Scott Manley in 2022
Personal information
Born (1972-12-31) 31 December 1972 (age 51)
Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland
NationalityBritish, American
Education University of Glasgow
OccupationSoftware developer at Apple Inc.
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2009–present
Subscribers1.66 million [1]
Total views598 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 14 March 2024

Scott Park Manley [2] (born 31 December 1972) is a Scottish science communication YouTuber, gamer, astrophysicist, and programmer. On his YouTube channel, he makes videos discussing space-related topics and news, mainly concerning up-to-date rocket science developments. [3] He also plays space-themed video games, most notably Kerbal Space Program , [4] while using his physics background to teach science concepts. [5] [6]

Contents

He is known among his followers as the "astronogamer", as he is one of the few YouTubers blending both video games and science, [7] and is popular in the niche community of space enthusiasts and gamers, especially among Kerbal Space Program players. [8]

Education and professional career

Manley grew up in Barassie, a suburb of Troon, South Ayrshire. While studying at the University of Glasgow, Manley received a Bachelor of Science (1990–1994) in physics and astronomy, focusing on asteroid belt populations, and a Master of Science (1994–1995) in computational physics. For five years he lived in Ireland. [9] In 2002, he worked as an engineer for Napster. From 2002 to 2004, he worked as a research engineer for Qualys. From 2004 to 2009, he worked as a security architect in imeem, where he developed and maintained an audio and video uploading, transcoding, and fingerprinting system, among other things. After Manley joined Topsy Labs in 2009, it was later acquired in 2013 by Apple Inc. where Manley is currently a software developer. [10]

YouTube career

Manley's first few uploads on his YouTube channel, "szyzyg", [11] were assorted home movies that were primarily of his daughter, Skye, some of which involved her playing the game EVE Online .

A video titled "Asteroid Discovery From 1980 - 2010" was one of Manley's early YouTube successes. The video is a computer animation showing a time-lapse of the Solar System from 1980-2010. When the time-lapse reaches the day an asteroid is discovered, it appears on the map as a bright green dot and continues orbiting the Sun. The video amassed over 459,000 views in the five days following its upload. [12] By September 3, 2010, the szyzyg channel had 213 subscribers, earning Manley the accolade "#66 - Most Viewed (This Week)". [11]

Some time before November 23, 2011, he changed the name of his YouTube channel to "Scott Manley". [13] Manley's later successes came from gaming content, specifically videos about Kerbal Space Program , a spaceflight simulator with accurate Newtonian physics. Kerbal Space Program is a sandbox game featuring players constructing rockets out of prefabricated parts, attempting to launch them into orbit and explore the solar system of Kerbin. The game has a very steep learning curve due to the accurate Newtonian physics engine. Manley used his scientific background to make tutorial videos on basic gameplay, such as how to reach Kerbin orbit. [14] Later, Manley would go on to play other games such as Elite Dangerous , EVE Online , Surviving Mars and Kerbal Space Program 2 , approaching them from his unique professional science perspective.

Around 2018, Manley slowly transitioned away from gaming content, and began focusing heavily on the history of spaceflight and current events in the industry. As of 2022, these subjects are his current main focus, alongside regular Q&A videos submitted by his patrons on Patreon. Manley still streams games weekly on Twitch under the name "Szyzyg". [15]

From 2022 to 2023, Manley uploaded an irregular series of vlogs documenting his progress in obtaining a private pilot license, becoming certified in April 2023. He's currently working towards an Instrument Rating and also owns an Aerospool WT9 Dynamic light sport aircraft which appears in a number of videos. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Author Anne McCaffrey consulted with Manley on the effects of asteroid impacts while writing The Skies of Pern . [21] Manley determined the orbit of a fictional rogue comet and provided advice on how the event should be portrayed. [22] Manley was one of the original participants of Asteroid Day, was a keynote speaker at the launch in 2015, [23] and hosted their regular "Asteroid Update" segments. [24] He is credited as a consultant on the Netflix movie Stowaway (directed by Joe Penna). In Penna's appearance on Corridor Cast, he said Manley would go beyond the immediate needs of the script and that he 'did the math so it would be ready'. [25]

Manley occasionally performs as a DJ and performed on stage at the Astro Awards in Austin, Texas. His Twitter handle 'DJSnM' is a reference to a name he performed under in the past. [26]

Recognition

In recognition for his work as a popular science communicator, asteroid 33434 Scottmanley was named after him. [27] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 ( M.P.C. 114954). [28] The outer main-belt asteroid was discovered by astronomers with the OCA–DLR Asteroid Survey in 1999. It is a member of the stony Koronis family and measures approximately 4.6 kilometers in diameter. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Lu</span> American physicist and astronaut (born 1963)

Edward Tsang "Ed" Lu is an American physicist and former NASA astronaut. He flew on two Space Shuttle flights, and made an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Pettit</span> American astronaut and engineer (born 1955)

Donald Roy Pettit is an American astronaut and chemical engineer best known for his orbital astrophotography and in-space inventions such as the Zero G Coffee Cup, which received the first ever patent for an object invented in space. He is a veteran of two long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station, one Space Shuttle mission and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica. As of 2024, at age 69, he is NASA's oldest active astronaut.

99942 Apophis (provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object, 450 metres (1,480 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft) in size, that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observations indicated a probability of 2.7% that it would hit Earth on Friday, 13 April 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth in 2029. A small possibility nevertheless remained that, during its 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole estimated to be 800 metres in diameter, which would have set up a future impact exactly seven years later on Easter Sunday, April 13, 2036. This possibility kept it at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006, when the probability that Apophis would pass through the keyhole was determined to be very small and Apophis's rating on the Torino scale was lowered to zero. By 2008, the keyhole had been determined to be less than 1 km wide. During the short time when it had been of greatest concern, Apophis set the record for highest rating ever on the Torino scale, reaching level 4 on December 27, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentry Lee</span> American scientist and science fiction author

Bert Gentry Lee is an American scientist, space engineer, and science fiction author. He is chief engineer for the Planetary Flight Systems Directorate at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A space flight simulation is a genre of flight simulator video games that lets players experience space flight to varying degrees of realism. Common mechanics include space exploration, space trade and space combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Penna</span> Brazilian musician (born 1987)

Jônatas de Moura Penna, best known as Joe Penna, is a Brazilian filmmaker and musician, best known from both his YouTube channel MysteryGuitarMan and his feature films. He resides in Los Angeles, California.

<i>Kerbal Space Program</i> Space flight simulator video game

Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is a space flight simulation video game developed by Mexican studio Squad for Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. In the game, players direct the space program of a species of green humanoid aliens known as "Kerbals". The game features a pseudorealistic orbital physics engine, allowing for various real-life orbital maneuvers such as Hohmann transfer orbits and orbital rendezvous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Neill cylinder</span> Space settlement concept

An O'Neill cylinder is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for the 21st century, using materials extracted from the Moon and later from asteroids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Scott (YouTuber)</span> English online and television personality

Thomas Scott is an English YouTuber and web developer. On his self-titled YouTube channel, Scott creates educational videos across a range of topics including history, geography, linguistics, science, and technology. As of August 2024, his five YouTube channels have collectively gained over 7.8 million subscribers and 1.87 billion views.

The Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) missions are a proposed pair of space probes which will study and demonstrate the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor spacecraft into an asteroid moon. The mission is intended to test and validate impact models of whether a spacecraft could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MinutePhysics</span> Educational YouTube channel

MinutePhysics is an educational YouTube channel created by Henry Reich in 2011. The channel's videos use whiteboard animation to explain physics-related topics. Early videos on the channel were approximately one minute long. As of March 2024, the channel has over 5.7 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vsauce</span> YouTube brand created by Michael Stevens

Vsauce is a YouTube brand created by educator Michael Stevens. The channels feature videos on scientific, psychological, mathematical, and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, popular culture, and other general interest subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Wecht</span> American Internet personality and musician (born 1975)

Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet personality, podcaster, and theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy musical duo Ninja Sex Party and video game-based comedy music trio Starbomb. He has also been a past member of the affiliated Let's Play webseries Game Grumps, all three alongside Dan Avidan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curse LLC</span> Network of gaming websites

Curse was a gaming company that managed the video game mod host CurseForge, wiki host Gamepedia, and the Curse Network of gaming community websites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MatPat</span> American YouTuber (born 1986)

Matthew Robert Patrick, better known as MatPat, is an American semi-retired YouTuber and internet personality. He is the creator and former host of the YouTube series Game Theory, and its spin-off series Film Theory, Food Theory, and Style Theory, each analyzing various video games, films alongside TV series and web series, food, and fashion respectively. Each of the different series is posted on individual channels, each named after the respective series. In addition to the creation of his channels, MatPat narrated the majority of the videos that are presented on his channels before his departure on March 9, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Hossenfelder</span> German physicist and popular science writer

Sabine Karin Doris Hossenfelder is a German theoretical physicist, philosopher of science, author, science communicator, and YouTuber. She is the author of Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray, which explores the concept of elegance in fundamental physics and cosmology, and of Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions.

Isaac Albert Arthur is a science educator, YouTuber, futurist and president of the American National Space Society. He is best known as producer of his YouTube channel, Science & Futurism With Isaac Arthur (SFIA), where he discusses a broad variety of topics on futurism and space colonization.

<i>Kerbal Space Program 2</i> Space flight simulator sequel

Kerbal Space Program 2 is a space flight simulation video game developed by Intercept Games and published by Private Division. It is the sequel to 2015's Kerbal Space Program and was released on early access on February 24, 2023, for Windows.

Felipe Falanghe, known online as ''HarvesteR'', is a Brazilian born video game programmer. He is the creator of the video game Kerbal Space Program, along with KitHack Model Club.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Scott Manley". YouTube.
  2. ↑ Flying in a Zero Gravity Aircraft - Why The Pilots 'Follow the Duck' on YouTube
  3. ↑ "Scott Manley". B612. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  4. ↑ Martindale, Jon (22 January 2014). "Meet the Man(ley) that taught the world how to Kerbalise space". KitGuru. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  5. ↑ Howell, Elizabeth (26 August 2016). "'Astronogamer': When Space Science Meets Gaming". Seeker. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Dillon, Conor (24 October 2018). "China's artificial moon — The numbers 'just don't add up'". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  7. ↑ Mejia, Ozzie (1 February 2016). "Shacknews Close-Up: Scott Manley, the Astronogamer". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Boone, Jeb (1 August 2013). "A far cry from Call of Duty, Kerbal Space Program is inspiring players to learn physics (VIDEO)". Public Radio International. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. ↑ Event occurs at 2 minutes 15 seconds. "Europe Debuts New Ariane 6 Rocket Successfully... Mostly. What Went Wrong?". YouTube. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Scott Manley". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. 1 2 "YouTube - szyzyg's Channel". YouTube . 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  12. ↑ Asteroid Discovery From 1980 - 2010. YouTube. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "szyzyg's Channel - YouTube". YouTube . 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  14. ↑ Easy Guide to Orbiting a Rocket In Kerbal Space Program. YouTube. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "Szyzyg on Twitch". Twitch. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "I Just Bought This Plane!". YouTube .
  17. ↑ How I'm Learning to "Fly Safe". YouTube. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  18. ↑ I Passed A 21st Century Aviation Exam With an 80 Year Old 'US Army Air Forces' Computer. YouTube. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Passing My Private Pilot Exam - The Hard Way. YouTube. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  20. ↑ Things Flight Instructors Taught Me Which Were Wrong!. YouTube. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "Anne McCaffrey on THE PHYSICS OF PERN". RandomHouse.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  22. ↑ Scott Manley (1 February 2015). "Found some old graphics I sent to Anne McCaffrey when I was figuring out the comet impact for Skies Of Pern". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "Asteroids In Video Games". B612. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "Asteroid Day Update – Featuring Scott Manley". Asteroidday.org. 29 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  25. ↑ Corridor Cast (13 February 2019). EP#14 | Joe Penna aka MysteryGuitarMan. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  26. ↑ https://x.com/DJSnM/status/1746900433610666164/video/1
  27. ↑ "33434 Scottmanley (1999 FU)". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  28. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  29. ↑ "Asteroid 33434 Scottmanley". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.