Bradford A. Smith (September 22, 1931 – July 3, 2018) was an American astronomer and an associate of the International Astronomical Union. He was employed by the

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program, and discovered the moon Bianca (which orbits Uranus) on January 23, 1986.

Teaching

He was an Associate Professor of Astronomy at New Mexico State University, a Professor at the University of Arizona, and a Research Astronomer at the University of Hawaii.

International space missions

Through his work of astronomy he was a team member or team leader of the imaging subsystems of several US and international space missions. The missions were Mars Mariners 6,7, and 9. Viking, Voyager 1 and 2, and the Soviet Vega and Phobos missions. With the Voyager 2 mission he discovered Bianca.

After

He soon changed his interest to extrasolar planetary systems, investigating circumstellar debris disks as a member of the Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS experiment team. Smith has four times been awarded the

NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement The NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (abbreviated ESAM) was established by NASA on September 15, 1961, when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under the current guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually sig ...

. He was a member of the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature and was Chair of the Task Group for Mars Nomenclature. He died in Santa Fe on July 3, 2018 from complications of

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, dro ...

Books

He has co-written three books: * * *

References

1931 births 2018 deaths American astronomers New Mexico State University faculty University of Arizona faculty {{US-astronomer-stub