Sydney Observatory key astronomical events haveoccurred in recent years, most notable are Halleys Comet (1986), The impact of Shoemaker Levy on Jupiter (1994), Mars at its closest encounter (2003), transits of Venus (2004, 2012), Comet McNaught (2007), planetary alignments and eclipses. Thousands of people came to the Observatory to view these through telescopes and to see relevant exhibitions. Further the Observatory provided information about these events to many more people either directly or through the media. In 2008, for the 150th anniversary, the Signal Station building was stabilised, one of the original two flagstaffs re-constructed and an archaeological investigation commenced around the
David H. Levy biography of Pluto-discoverer Clyde Tombaugh in 2006, and his tribute to Gene Shoemaker in "Shoemaker by Levy". He has provided periodic articles for "Sky and Telescope" magazine, as well as "Parade Magazine", "Sky News" and, most recently, "Astronomy Magazine". Periodic comets that Levy co-discovered include 118P/Shoemaker–Levy, 129P/Shoemaker–Levy, 135P/Shoemaker–Levy, 137P/Shoemaker–Levy, 138P/Shoemaker–Levy, 145P/Shoemaker–Levy, and 181P/Shoemaker–Levy. In addition, Levy is the sole discoverer of two periodic comets: 255P/Levy and P/1991 L3. On February 28, 2010, Levy was awarded a Ph. D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his successful completion of his thesis "The Sky in Early Modern English Literature: A Study