David L. Rabinowitz

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David L. Rabinowitz
David Rabinowitz.jpg
David Lincoln Rabinowitz working at the NEAT-Project
Born1960 (age 6364)
Alma materYale University
University of Chicago
Known forCo-discoverer of the new population of dwarf planets in the outer solar system
Scientific career
Fields Astrophysics
Institutions Yale University's Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics
University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Thesis  (1988)
Website physics.yale.edu/people/david-rabinowitz

David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and researcher at Yale University.

Contents

Career

David Rabinowitz has built CCD cameras and software for the detection of near-Earth and Kuiper belt objects, [1] and his research has helped reduce the assumed number of near-Earth asteroids larger than 1 km by half, from 1,000–2,000 to 500–1,000. [2] He has also assisted in the detection of distant solar system objects, supernovae, and quasars, thereby helping to understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System and the dark energy driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Collaborating with Michael Brown and Chad Trujillo of the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team, he has participated in the discovery of several possible dwarf planets such as 90377 Sedna (possibly the first known inner Oort cloud object), 90482 Orcus, [3] Eris (more massive than Pluto [4] ), Haumea, [5] and Makemake, [6] though no-one would get credit for Haumea.

Together with Tom Gehrels of the University of Arizona and his Spacewatch team, Rabinowitz discovered or co-discovered other astronomical objects including 5145 Pholus [7] – a Centaur, credited by the MPC to Spacewatch [8] – and the unnumbered Apollo near-Earth object 1991 BA, which remains uncredited. [9]

Awards and honors

The minor planet 5040 Rabinowitz, a Phocaea asteroid discovered by Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in 1972, was named in his honor and for his work at Spacewatch. [10]

List of discovered minor planets

David Rabinowitz is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery and co-discovery of 34 minor planets during 1989–2010. [11]

90377 Sedna 14 November 2003 list [A] [B]
90482 Orcus February 17, 2004 list [A] [B]
(120178) 2003 OP32 July 26, 2003 list [A] [B]
(120348) 2004 TY364 October 3, 2004 list [A] [B]
136199 Eris October 21, 2003 list [A] [B]
136472 Makemake March 31, 2005 list [A] [B]
(175113) 2004 PF115 August 7, 2004 list [A] [B]
(187661) 2007 JG43May 10, 2007 list [C] [A]
225088 Gonggong July 17, 2007 list [C] [A]
229762 Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà July 17, 2007 list [A] [C]
(305543) 2008 QY40August 25, 2008 list [C] [A]
(312645) 2010 EP65March 9, 2010 list [D]
(316179) 2010 EN65 March 7, 2010 list [D]
(349933) 2009 YF7December 19, 2009 list
(353222) 2009 YD7December 16, 2009 list
(382004) 2010 RM64September 9, 2010 list [C] [D]
(386723) 2009 YE7 December 17, 2009 list
(445473) 2010 VZ98 November 11, 2010 list [C] [D]
(471136) 2010 EO65March 9, 2010 list [D]
(471137) 2010 ET65March 13, 2010 list [D]
(471149) 2010 FB49March 17, 2010 list [D]
(471150) 2010 FC49March 18, 2010 list [D]
(471151) 2010 FD49March 19, 2010 list [D]
(471152) 2010 FE49March 19, 2010 list [D]
(471155) 2010 GF65April 14, 2010 list [D]
(471172) 2010 JC80May 12, 2010 list [D]
(471196) 2010 PK66August 14, 2010 list [C] [D]
(471210) 2010 VW11November 3, 2010 list [C] [D]
(496816) 1989 UPOctober 27, 1989 list [E]
(499522) 2010 PL66August 14, 2010 list [C] [D]
(504555) 2008 SO266September 24, 2008 list [C] [A]
(523618) 2007 RT15September 11, 2007 list [C] [A]
(523629) 2008 SP266September 26, 2008 list [C] [A]
(528381) 2008 ST291September 24, 2008 list [C] [A]
Co-discovery made with:
A M. E. Brown
B C. Trujillo
C M. E. Schwamb
D S. Tourtellotte
E J. V. Scotti

1992AD is with a comet-like orbit of 92.26 years without a tail, which orbits between Saturn and Neptune. It was discovered by Rabinowitz in 1992 and was officially named Pholus. Another body that he discovered in 1993 was named Nessus with an orbit of 123.2 years. This one orbits between Saturn and Pluto. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuiper belt</span> Area of the Solar System beyond the planets, comprising small bodies

The Kuiper belt is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune at 30 astronomical units (AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger—20 times as wide and 20–200 times as massive. Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies or remnants from when the Solar System formed. While many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal, most Kuiper belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles, such as methane, ammonia, and water. The Kuiper belt is home to most of the objects that astronomers generally accept as dwarf planets: Orcus, Pluto, Haumea, Quaoar, and Makemake. Some of the Solar System's moons, such as Neptune's Triton and Saturn's Phoebe, may have originated in the region.

A trans-Neptunian object (TNO), also written transneptunian object, is any minor planet in the Solar System that orbits the Sun at a greater average distance than Neptune, which has an orbital semi-major axis of 30.1 astronomical units (au).

5145 Pholus is an eccentric centaur in the outer Solar System, approximately 180 kilometers in diameter, that crosses the orbit of both Saturn and Neptune. It was discovered on 9 January 1992 by American astronomer David Rabinowitz (uncredited) of UA's Spacewatch survey at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. The very reddish object has an elongated shape and a rotation period of 9.98 hours. It was named after the centaur Pholus from Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Trujillo</span> American astronomer (born 1973)

Chadwick A. Trujillo is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and the co-discoverer of Eris, the most massive dwarf planet known in the Solar System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael E. Brown</span> American astronomer (born 1965)

Michael E. Brown is an American astronomer, who has been professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. His team has discovered many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), including the dwarf planet Eris, which was originally thought to be bigger than Pluto, triggering a debate on the definition of a planet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spacewatch</span> Astronomical survey that specializes in the study of minor planets

The Spacewatch Project is an astronomical survey that specializes in the study of minor planets, including various types of asteroids and comets at University of Arizona telescopes on Kitt Peak near Tucson, Arizona. The Spacewatch Project has been active longer than any other similar currently active programs.

The definition of the term planet has changed several times since the word was coined by the ancient Greeks. Greek astronomers employed the term ἀστέρες πλανῆται, 'wandering stars', for star-like objects which apparently moved over the sky. Over the millennia, the term has included a variety of different celestial bodies, from the Sun and the Moon to satellites and asteroids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haumea</span> Dwarf planet in the Solar System

Haumea is a dwarf planet located beyond Neptune's orbit. It was discovered in 2004 by a team headed by Mike Brown of Caltech at the Palomar Observatory, and formally announced in 2005 by a team headed by José Luis Ortiz Moreno at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain, who had discovered it that year in precovery images taken by the team in 2003. From that announcement, it received the provisional designation 2003 EL61. On 17 September 2008, it was named after Haumea, the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth, under the expectation by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that it would prove to be a dwarf planet. Nominal estimates make it the third-largest known trans-Neptunian object, after Eris and Pluto, and approximately the size of Uranus's moon Titania. Precovery images of Haumea have been identified back to 22 March 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makemake</span> Dwarf planet in the Outer Solar System

Makemake is a dwarf planet and the second-largest of what is known as the classical population of Kuiper belt objects, with a diameter approximately that of Saturn's moon Iapetus, or 60% that of Pluto. It has one known satellite. Its extremely low average temperature, about 40 K (−230 °C), means its surface is covered with methane, ethane, and possibly nitrogen ices. Makemake shows signs of geothermal activity and thus may be capable of supporting active geology and harboring an active subsurface ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7066 Nessus</span> Very red centaur on an eccentric orbit beyond Saturn in the outer Solar System

7066 Nessus is a very red centaur on an eccentric orbit, located beyond Saturn in the outer Solar System. It was discovered on 26 April 1993, by astronomers of the Spacewatch program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. The dark and reddish minor planet is likely elongated and measures approximately 60 kilometers in diameter. It was named after Nessus from Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwarf planet</span> Small planetary-mass object

A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit around the Sun, massive enough to be gravitationally rounded, but insufficient to achieve orbital dominance like the eight classical planets of the Solar System. The prototypical dwarf planet is Pluto, which for decades was regarded as a planet before the "dwarf" concept was adopted in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eris (dwarf planet)</span> Dwarf planet beyond Pluto in the Solar System

Eris is the most massive and second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in the scattered disk and has a high-eccentricity orbit. Eris was discovered in January 2005 by a Palomar Observatory–based team led by Mike Brown and verified later that year. It was named in September 2006 after the Greco–Roman goddess of strife and discord. Eris is the ninth-most massive known object orbiting the Sun and the sixteenth-most massive overall in the Solar System. It is also the largest known object in the solar system that has not been visited by a spacecraft. Eris has been measured at 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445 ± 7 mi) in diameter; its mass is 0.28% that of the Earth and 27% greater than that of Pluto, although Pluto is slightly larger by volume. Both Eris and Pluto have a surface area that is comparable to the area of Russia or South America.

(24835) 1995 SM55 (provisional designation 1995 SM55) is a trans-Neptunian object and member of the Haumea family that resides in the Kuiper belt, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 19 September 1995, by American astronomer Nichole Danzl of the Spacewatch program at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. It measures approximately 200 kilometers in diameter and was the second-brightest known object in the Kuiper belt, after Pluto, until 1996 TO66 was discovered.

5040 Rabinowitz, provisional designation 1972 RF, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory on 15 September 1972. Contrary to most of his discoveries, this asteroid is unrelated to the Palomar–Leiden survey and exclusively credited to Tom Gehrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moons of Haumea</span> Natural satellites orbiting dwarf planet Haumea

The dwarf planet Haumea has two known moons, Hiʻiaka and Namaka, named after Hawaiian goddesses. These small moons were discovered in 2005, from observations of Haumea made at the large telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Haumea was the first of the IAU-recognized dwarf planets to be discovered since Pluto in 1930. Its naming as a dwarf planet was delayed by several years due to controversy over who should receive credit for its discovery. A California Institute of Technology (Caltech) team headed by Michael E. Brown first noticed the object, but a Spanish team headed by José Luis Ortiz Moreno were the first to announce it, and so normally would receive credit. Brown accused the Spanish team of fraud, using Caltech observations without credit to make their discovery, while the Ortiz team accused the American team of political interference with the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU officially recognized the Californian team's proposed name Haumea over the name proposed by the Spanish team, Ataecina, in September 2008.

<span class="nowrap">(386723) 2009 YE<sub>7</sub></span>

(386723) 2009 YE7 (provisional designation 2009 YE7) is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) discovered by David Rabinowitz on December 17, 2009, at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of the Solar System</span> Overview of and topical guide to the Solar System

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Solar System:

References

  1. "David Rabinowitz overview". Archived from the original on November 6, 2005.
  2. Jane Platt (January 12, 2000). "Asteroid population count slashed". NASA. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  3. David Whitehouse (March 3, 2004). "New world found far beyond Pluto". BBC News - Science/Nature. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  4. Brown, Michael E.; Schaller, Emily L. (June 2007). "The Mass of Dwarf Planet Eris". Science. 316 (5831): 1585. Bibcode:2007Sci...316.1585B. doi:10.1126/science.1139415. PMID   17569855. S2CID   21468196.
  5. Brown, M. E.; Bouchez, A. H.; Rabinowitz, D.; Sari, R.; Trujillo, C. A.; van Dam, M.; et al. (October 2005). "Keck Observatory Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics Discovery and Characterization of a Satellite to the Large Kuiper Belt Object 2003 EL61" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 632 (1): L45–L48. Bibcode:2005ApJ...632L..45B. doi:10.1086/497641. S2CID   119408563 . Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  6. Mike Baldwin. "Eris: dwarf planet larger than Pluto". memphisgeology. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. "Pholus (minor planet 5145)". David Darling. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  8. "5145 Pholus (1992 AD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  9. "1991 BA". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  10. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(5040) Rabinowitz". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 434. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4907. ISBN   978-3-540-00238-3.
  11. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  12. Life After Grief: An Astrological Guide to Dealing with Loss, by Darrelyn Gunzburg, 2004