Carl William Hergenrother (born 1973) is an American
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and discoverer of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s and
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
s.
As credited by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
, he has discovered and co-discovered 32 numbered
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
s at the
Bigelow Sky Survey during 1993–1999.
He has also discovered a number of comets including the long-period comet, C/1996 R1 (Hergenrother-Spahr), and three periodic comets,
168P/Hergenrother, 175P/Hergenrother and P/1999 V1 (Catalina). He is also a member of the science and operations team of the 2016-launched
OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, a sample return mission to study near-Earth asteroid
101955 Bennu
101955 Bennu (provisional designation ) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table and has the highest cumula ...
.
The outer main-belt asteroid
3099 Hergenrother was named in his honor on 3 May 1996 ().
List of discovered minor planets
See also
*
References
External links
Beyond Pluto: exploring the outer limits of the solar system John Keith Davies, Cambridge University Press
Get to Know a Staff Scientist: Carl Hergenrother Lunar & Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hergenrother, Carl W.
1973 births
American astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
*
Living people
Planetary scientists