Martin Connors

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Martin Gerard Connors (born 1954) is a Canadian astronomer, space physicist, author and professor. [1]

Contents

Career

Connors received a PhD in Physics from the University of Alberta in 1998. He is a Professor at Athabasca University. He tutors and develops courses in Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy. [2] He was part of the team credited with the discovery of the first Earth trojan asteroid, an asteroid that orbits the Sun on a similar orbital path as that of Earth. The 300-meter-diameter asteroid was designated 2010 TK7 . The asteroid was discovered in October 2010 by the NEOWISE team of astronomers using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). [3] Connors himself is credited with the near-Earth and Apollo asteroid (464639) 2000 PO30, which he co-discovered together with astronomer Christian Veillet at the Mauna Kea Observatories in August 2000. [4] He was co-discoverer of the orbital properties of the "retrograde Trojan" 514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela. [5]

Connors' first book "Invisible Solar System" was published by Taylor and Francis/CRC Press in 2024.

Awards and honors

The asteroid 13700 Connors, discovered by the Spacewatch survey in 1998, was named in his honor. [1] He held a Canada Research Chair at Athabasca University and has received that organization's teaching and research awards.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">11429 Demodokus</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">9694 Lycomedes</span> Asteroid

9694 Lycomedes is a Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 32 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden survey at the Palomar Observatory in 1960 and later named after Lycomedes from Greek mythology. The dark Jovian asteroid is likely elongated in shape and has a rotation period of 18.2 hours.

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15436 Dexius, provisional designation: 1998 VU30, is a large Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 86 kilometers (53 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 10 November 1998, by astronomers of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico. The presumed C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.97 hours. It is one of the 50 largest Jupiter trojans and was named after Dexius, father of Iphinous from Greek mythology.

11395 Iphinous (provisional designation 1998 XN77) is a large Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp approximately 66 kilometers (41 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 15 December 1998, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. The dark asteroid has a rotation period of 17.4 hours and possibly a spherical shape. The body is one of the 50 largest Jupiter trojans. It was named from Greek mythology after the Achaean soldier Iphinous who was killed by Glaucus in the Trojan War.

23135 Pheidas (provisional designation 2000 AN146) is a large Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 66 kilometers (41 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 7 January 2000, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. The dark Jovian asteroid belongs to the 50 largest Jupiter trojans and has a rotation period of 8.7 hours. It was named after the Athenian warrior Pheidas from Greek mythology.

(21601) 1998 XO89 (provisional designation 1998 XO89) is a Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 15 December 1998, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico. The dark Jovian asteroid has a rotation period of 12.7 hours and belongs to the 80 largest Jupiter trojans. It has not been named since its numbering in February 2001.

(22149) 2000 WD49 (provisional designation 2000 WD49) is a Jupiter trojan from the Greek camp, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 November 2000, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. The dark Jovian asteroid belongs to the largest Jupiter trojans and has a rotation period of 7.84 hours. It has not been named since its numbering in February 2001.

(15977) 1998 MA11 (provisional designation 1998 MA11) is a Jupiter trojan from the Trojan camp, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 19 June 1998, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. The suspected tumbler is also a slow rotator with a period of 250 hours. It has not been named since its numbering in July 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 "13700 Connors (1998 MM36)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Brief Bio Martin Connors". Athabasca University. 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "NASA's WISE Mission Finds First Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth's Orbit". NASA. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 464639 (2000 PO30)" (2017-06-25 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela" . Retrieved 27 April 2024.


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