Roy Tucker is an American astronomer, who is credited with the discovery of more than 702 minor planets. Mr Tucker, who is from Jackson, Mississipi, is best known for his co-discovery of the asteroid known as Apophis 99942. The 400-metre-wide space rock continues to pose a destructive threat to Earth.
However, it was a serious concern to NASA when it was first discovered in 2004, as it was thought it could strike the Earth or the moon in 2029.
Mr Tucker revealed how he stumbled across the space rock during Amazon Prime’s “Asteroid Trackers” series.
He said in 2008: “Apophis, that was an interesting experience.
“It was just pure beginner's luck.
Roy Tucker spotted Apophis in 2004 (Image: GETTY/AMAZON PRIME)
Roy Tucker built the telescope in his back garden (Image: AMAZON PRIME)
I saw this little moving thing and though ‘here’s a fella right
