Neil deGrasse Tyson Thought His 'SNL' Impersonation 'Could Have Been Better'

With a new role as host of Fox documentary series "Cosmos," Neil deGrasse Tyson has reached a new level of fame - for better or worse.

The astrophysicist was mocked on "Saturday Night Live" last month, with Kenan Thompson impersonating him discussing climate change while a guest on "Fox and Friends."

We asked deGrasse Tyson what he thought of the sketch at Tuesday's Time 100 gala, where the scientist said, "I thought they could have done a little better."

After lightening up a bit, he does admit, "they got my ties right, and I was charmed by it."

deGrasse Tyson, who has only met Kenan Thompson "once at Comic-Con a couple of years ago," says that if he were face-to-face with the show's executive producer, Lorne Michaels, he would say: "'Lorne, I'm honored and flattered that you would think of representing me, particularly in that context on Fox News. But I think your comedians and actors have more accurately portrayed other people than he [Kenan] portrayed me. So there's some room for improvement."

But ultimately, deGrasse Tyson says, "If the universe prompts people - artists - to have fun, then more power to it. It is a sign that science has become mainstream and that can only be a good thing."

For the record, after interviewing deGrasse Tyson, we think it's a pretty spot-on impression. Watch the SNL clip below:

As for his increased profile after hosting "Cosmos," deGrasse Tyson tells us, "Now I have to just be a little more groomed when I leave in the morning, you can't scratch yourself or do things that you may otherwise want to do, but I've grown accustomed to it."

But, he notes of fans approaching him, "It's not people who ask me my favorite color or anything, instead they say, 'Thanks for teaching me about black holes and the universe.' To an educator, that's a special comment."