see § List of discovered minor planets |
Richard Martin West (born 1941) is a Danish astronomer and discoverer of astronomical objects with a long career at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and at the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
He discovered numerous comets, including Comet West (C/1975 V1), which was one of the brightest comets of the 1970s, [2] and the periodic comets 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura and 123P/West–Hartley.
He is also credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 40 minor planets between 1976 and 1986, [1] including 2146 Stentor and 2148 Epeios, two Trojan asteroids. Together with Hans-Emil Schuster, he co-discovered the Phoenix Dwarf galaxy.
West was born in Copenhagen in 1941. He completed high school in 1959 and then achieved a degree in astronomy and astrophysics from University of Copenhagen in 1964.
Richard West began working at ESO in 1970, when he joined as Assistant Astronomer to the ESO Director General, Adriaan Blaauw. His career took a leap in 1972, when he charged one of the first and largest scientific programmes of ESO: the Sky Atlas Laboratory project to systematically map the southern hemisphere. [3]
West was a leading figure in helping out and establishing serious collaborations with the scientific communities of the Central and Eastern European countries in the wake of the political, social and economical turmoil following the collapse and dismantling of the Soviet block in the early 1990s. [3] [4]
West retired in 2005, after a continuous employment at ESO. [3]
Richard West focussed a lot of his worklife on the organizational matters of the international scientific community in addition to science communications in general. He held a number of influential positions: [3]
2052 Tamriko | 24 October 1976 | list |
2053 Nuki | 24 October 1976 | list |
2115 Irakli | 24 October 1976 | list |
2116 Mtskheta | 24 October 1976 | list |
2117 Danmark | 9 January 1978 | list |
2145 Blaauw | 24 October 1976 | list |
2146 Stentor | 24 October 1976 | list |
2147 Kharadze | 25 October 1976 | list |
2148 Epeios | 24 October 1976 | list |
2187 La Silla | 24 October 1976 | list |
2526 Alisary | 19 May 1979 | list |
2595 Gudiachvili | 19 May 1979 | list |
2596 Vainu Bappu | 19 May 1979 | list |
2935 Naerum | 24 October 1976 | list |
3004 Knud | 27 February 1976 | list |
3477 Kazbegi | 19 May 1979 | list |
3871 Reiz | 18 February 1982 | list |
3933 Portugal | 12 March 1986 | list |
5270 Kakabadze | 19 May 1979 | list |
5890 Carlsberg | 19 May 1979 | list |
6362 Tunis | 19 May 1979 | list |
8066 Poldimeri | 6 August 1980 | list |
8993 Ingstad | 30 October 1980 | list |
9272 Liseleje | 19 May 1979 | list |
10462 Saxogrammaticus | 19 May 1979 | list |
10668 Plansos | 24 October 1976 | list |
11005 Waldtrudering | 6 August 1980 | list |
12188 Kalaallitnunaat | 9 August 1978 | list |
(12198) 1980 PJ1 | 6 August 1980 | list |
(14350) 1985 VA1 | 1 November 1985 | list |
(15201) 1976 UY | 31 October 1976 | list |
(15207) 1979 KD | 19 May 1979 | list |
(20995) 1985 VY | 1 November 1985 | list |
(22252) 1978 SG | 27 September 1978 | list |
(26081) 1980 PT1 | 6 August 1980 | list |
(27667) 1979 KJ | 19 May 1979 | list |
(34998) 1978 SE | 27 September 1978 | list |
(65661) 1985 VB1 | 1 November 1985 | list |
79086 Gorgasali | 4 September 1977 | list |
(187746) 1976 DC | 27 February 1976 | list |
In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few stars, and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered every year. Astronomers need to be able to assign systematic designations to unambiguously identify all of these objects, and at the same time give names to the most interesting objects, and where relevant, features of those objects.
Brian Geoffrey Marsden was a British astronomer and the longtime director of the Minor Planet Center (MPC) at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.
Eugène Joseph Delporte was a Belgian astronomer born in Genappe.
Hans-Emil Schuster is a German astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and comets, who retired in October 1991. He worked at Hamburg Observatory at Bergedorf and European Southern Observatory (ESO), and was former acting director of La Silla Observatory. From 1982 he was married to Rosemarie Schuster née von Holt
Liisi Oterma was a Finnish astronomer, the first woman to get a Ph.D. degree in astronomy in Finland.
Paul Wild was a Swiss astronomer and director of the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern, who discovered numerous comets, asteroids and supernovae.
Takao Kobayashi is a Japanese amateur astronomer and an outstanding discoverer of minor planets who currently works at the Ōizumi Observatory. The asteroid 3500 Kobayashi is named after him.
Roy A. Tucker (1951 - 2021) was an American astronomer best known for the co-discovery of near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis (formerly known as 2004 MN4) along with David J. Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the University of Hawaii. He was a prolific discoverer of minor planets, credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 702 numbered minor planets between 1996 and 2010. He also discovered two comets: 328P/LONEOS–Tucker and C/2004 Q1, a Jupiter-family and near-parabolic comet, respectively.
Marco Cavagna was an Italian amateur astronomer.
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Richard "Rick" P. Binzel is an American astronomer and professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a discoverer of minor planets, photometrist and the inventor of the Torino Scale, a method for categorizing the impact hazard associated with near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets. He is also a frequent trip leader for the MIT Alumni Association.
Krisztián Sárneczky is a Hungarian teacher of geography and prolific discoverer of minor planets and supernovae, researching at Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary. He is a board member of the Hungarian Astronomical Association (HAA) and member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, leader of the Comet Section of the HAA, and is a contributor in the editorial work of Hungarian Astronomical Almanach.
James Whitney Young is an American astronomer who worked in the field of asteroid research. After nearly 47 years with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at their Table Mountain Facility, Young retired July 16, 2009.
Poul B. Jensen is a Danish astronomer and a discoverer of 98 minor planets while working at Brorfelde Observatory. Between 1967 and 1969 he assisted in positional observations with the observatory's 7" transit circle. He is also a co-discoverer of the Comet Jensen-Shoemaker (1987g1). As of 2004, he was still publishing in the Minor Planet Circulars.
2187 La Silla, provisionally designated 1976 UH, is a stony Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.
2022 West, provisional designation 1938 CK, is a stony asteroid from the middle regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory on 7 February 1938. The asteroid was named after Danish astronomer Richard M. West.
1545 Thernöe is an elongated background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 15 October 1941, by Finnish astronomer Liisi Oterma at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland. The uncommon K-type asteroid has a rotation period of 16.1 hours and measures approximately 18 kilometers in diameter. It was later named after Danish astronomer Karl August Thernöe.
A minor planet is "lost" when today's observers cannot find it, because its location is too uncertain to target observations. This happens if the orbital elements of a minor planet are not known accurately enough, typically because the observation arc for the object is too short, or too few observations were made before the object became unobservable.
Fabrizio Bernardi is an Italian astronomer and discoverer of minor planets and comets, best known for the co-discovery of the near-Earth and potentially hazardous asteroid 99942 Apophis.
Michel Ory is a Swiss amateur astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets and comets.