AMHERST - Neil deGrasse Tyson, internationally known astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, will be the speaker at the University of Massachusetts Commencement May 8.

He will address about 5,500 undergraduates receiving bachelor's degrees, as well as family and friends, at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

Tyson most recently was the executive editor and on-camera host for "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey," the 21st century version of Carl Sagan's landmark television series.

The show began in March 2014 and ran 13 episodes in Primetime on the FOX network and appeared in 181 countries in 45 languages around the world on the National Geographic Channels, according to a press release.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/internationally_know_astrophys.html#incart_m-rpt-1