Leading light in science, Italy's 'lady of the stars' Hack dies

By Naomi O'Leary

ROME (Reuters) - Astrophysicist Margherita Hack, a popular science writer, public intellectual and the first woman to lead an astronomical observatory in Italy, died on Saturday at the age of 91.

Known as the "lady of the stars", Hack's research contributed to the spectral classification of many groups of stars, and the asteroid 8558 Hack is named after her.

She introduced astrophysics to a broad Italian audience, from university textbooks to colorful tomes of astronomy for children, and was astronomy chair at the University of Trieste and director of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory from 1964 to 1987, the first woman to hold the position.

Hack was one of Italy's most visible scientists over her career and remained a grey-haired media presence into her 90s, often consulted for her assessment of the issues of the day from a wooden rocking chair in her book-lined Trieste home.

An outspoken atheist in a predominantly Catholic country, Hack was known for her opposition to the influence of religious beliefs over scientific research, and lobbied for legalized abortion, euthanasia, animal protection and gay rights.

One of her many books, "Why I am Vegetarian", published at the age of 89, outlined Hack's belief that there was no difference between human and animal pain and that eating meat damaged the environment, sparking debate in a country with a proud tradition of meatballs, beef pasta dishes and cured hams.

In December 2012 she told a reporter she had decided not to have a heart operation that could prolong her life, wryly commenting that she might as well save the Italian public health service the money, and saying she preferred to stay at home with her books and her husband of seven decades, Aldo De Rosa.

"I do not believe in the afterlife," she said, chuckling and animated, in her final television appearance in March. "When I die my particles will flutter about the terrestrial atmosphere."

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Alison Williams)

View the original article here

Science fiction author Richard Matheson dead at 87

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. science-fiction and horror author Richard Matheson, whose novels and stories, including "I Am Legend" and "The Shrinking Man," were adapted for the big screen and television, has died, the Writers Guild of America said on Monday. He was 87.

The Writer's Guild, of which Matheson was a member, did not announce where or when the author died nor a cause of death.

Matheson, who was born in Allendale, New Jersey, in 1926 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, first began publishing science-fiction and horror stories in the 1950s.

His 1954 horror novel "I Am Legend" is considered a landmark work in the genre, ushering in zombies and apocalyptic themes to post-World War Two America.

The novel was adapted three times as a film, most recently in 2007 as a big-budget thriller starring Will Smith.

Matheson also wrote the teleplay "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" in 1963 for "The Twilight Zone" television series.

The episode, which stars William Shatner, has become a much-referenced TV classic with a famous shot of a gremlin peering into the window of the plane from its wing.

The author wrote the screenplay for 1971's "Duel," one of director Stephen Spielberg's first films.

He was credited as a writer on at least 80 film and television productions over his career spanning seven decades, according to the Internet Movie Database.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

View the original article here

Science fiction author Richard Matheson dead at 87

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. science-fiction and horror author Richard Matheson, whose novels and stories, including "I Am Legend" and "The Shrinking Man," were adapted for the big screen and television, has died, the Writers Guild of America said on Monday. He was 87.

The Writer's Guild, of which Matheson was a member, did not announce where or when the author died nor a cause of death.

Matheson, who was born in Allendale, New Jersey, in 1926 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, first began publishing science-fiction and horror stories in the 1950s.

His 1954 horror novel "I Am Legend" is considered a landmark work in the genre, ushering in zombies and apocalyptic themes to post-World War Two America.

The novel was adapted three times as a film, most recently in 2007 as a big-budget thriller starring Will Smith.

Matheson also wrote the teleplay "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" in 1963 for "The Twilight Zone" television series.

The episode, which stars William Shatner, has become a much-referenced TV classic with a famous shot of a gremlin peering into the window of the plane from its wing.

The author wrote the screenplay for 1971's "Duel," one of director Stephen Spielberg's first films.

He was credited as a writer on at least 80 film and television productions over his career spanning seven decades, according to the Internet Movie Database.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

View the original article here

Mystery and science fiction author Jack Vance dead at 96

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mystery and science fiction writer Jack Vance, whose works included "The Dragon Master" and "The Last Castle," has died at age 96, according to a statement posted on his official website on Wednesday.

Vance passed away at his Oakland, California, home on Sunday, according to the statement at www.jackvance.com, a site maintained by his friends and family.

He won the Hugo award for his science fiction book "The Dragon Masters" in 1963 and again in 1967 for "The Last Castle." The Hugo is given for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

"The Dragon Masters" features medieval-style combat and describes humans who war with aliens, even as they rely on certain lizard-like aliens they took captive.

"The Last Castle" takes place on a fictional planet Earth where humans live like aristocrats in high-tech redoubts while aliens attend their needs, until a race of those aliens stages a violent revolt.

Vance, who wrote over 60 books, also authored mystery novels under his full name, John Holbrook Vance, and three titles under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, according to his website.

In 1974, the movie "Bad Ronald," which was based on a story by Vance about a teenager who accidentally kills a girl and conspires with his mother to hide in their house, was broadcast on television.

Pulitzer-prize winning author Michael Chabon in a 2009 New York Times magazine article about Vance called him "the most painful case of all the writers I love who I feel don't get the credit they deserve."

Vance was born in San Francisco and was raised on his maternal grandparents ranch in Northern California after his parents separated. After college, he worked at a naval shipyard in Hawaii but left shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, according to his website.

He later served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and saw some of his earliest work published in pulp magazines.

A lifelong lover of music, Vance played the cornet, ukulele and harmonica and had an affection for jazz music.

He was legally blind since the 1980s but continued to write with the help of special computer software.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Simao)

View the original article here

Mystery and science fiction author Jack Vance dead at 96

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mystery and science fiction writer Jack Vance, whose works included "The Dragon Master" and "The Last Castle," has died at age 96, according to a statement posted on his official website on Wednesday.

Vance passed away at his Oakland, California, home on Sunday, according to the statement at www.jackvance.com, a site maintained by his friends and family.

He won the Hugo award for his science fiction book "The Dragon Masters" in 1963 and again in 1967 for "The Last Castle." The Hugo is given for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

"The Dragon Masters" features medieval-style combat and describes humans who war with aliens, even as they rely on certain lizard-like aliens they took captive.

"The Last Castle" takes place on a fictional planet Earth where humans live like aristocrats in high-tech redoubts while aliens attend their needs, until a race of those aliens stages a violent revolt.

Vance, who wrote over 60 books, also authored mystery novels under his full name, John Holbrook Vance, and three titles under the pseudonym Ellery Queen, according to his website.

In 1974, the movie "Bad Ronald," which was based on a story by Vance about a teenager who accidentally kills a girl and conspires with his mother to hide in their house, was broadcast on television.

Pulitzer-prize winning author Michael Chabon in a 2009 New York Times magazine article about Vance called him "the most painful case of all the writers I love who I feel don't get the credit they deserve."

Vance was born in San Francisco and was raised on his maternal grandparents ranch in Northern California after his parents separated. After college, he worked at a naval shipyard in Hawaii but left shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, according to his website.

He later served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and saw some of his earliest work published in pulp magazines.

A lifelong lover of music, Vance played the cornet, ukulele and harmonica and had an affection for jazz music.

He was legally blind since the 1980s but continued to write with the help of special computer software.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Simao)

View the original article here