Charles W. Juels (1944 – January 21, 2009) was an American amateur

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

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

by profession, who became a prolific 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 after his retirement. Juels was born in New York City in 1944, and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1969 he graduated from Cincinnati College of Medicine. After his retirement as a psychiatrist in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, Arizona, he began hunting for minor planets at his private Fountain Hills Observatory, in

Fountain Hills Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. The ...

, Arizona. He quickly became noted when he was credited with the discovery of 65 numbered minor planets during the first 18 months of his short career as a

discoverer of minor planets This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 numb ...

. In total, Juels is 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 ...

(MPC) with the discovery of 475

s made between 1999 and 2003, and ranks as one of the world's top discoverers on the MPC charts. In December 2002, Juels and

Paulo R. Holvorcem Paulo Renato Centeno Holvorcem (born 10 July 1967) is a Brazilian amateur astronomer and mathematician who lives in Brasilia, Brazil. He is a prolific discoverer of asteroids. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery or co-di ...

won the "Harvard–Smithsonian 2003 Comet Award" for their joint

charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

(CCD) electronic-camera discovery of C/2002 Y1, a near-parabolic comet. He died on January 21, 2009, at the age of 64. The main-belt asteroid 20135 Juels, discovered by

Paul G. Comba Paul G. Comba (1926 – April 5, 2017) was an Italian-American computer scientist, an amateur astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets. He was born in French protectorate of Tunisia, Tunisia to Italian Tunisians, Italian parents in ...

in 1996, was named in his honor. Naming citation was published on 9 March 2001 ().

List of discovered asteroids

As of 2016, the MPC credits Juels with the discovery of 475 numbered

s, discovered between 1999 and 2003. Several of his discoveries were named after people, in particular after astronomers such as 24105 Broughton and

24101 Cassini 24101 Cassini, provisional designation ', is an eccentric background asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 November 1999, by American amateur astronomer Charles Juels ...

References

External links

Charles Juels – Condolences
Guest book {{DEFAULTSORT:Juels, Charles W. 1944 births 2009 deaths American psychiatrists Discoverers of asteroids Discoverers of comets * Jewish American scientists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American astronomers Astronomers