John Bernard Hearnshaw (born 16 March 1946) is a New Zealand astronomer who is Emeritus Professor of

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. He served as director of the Mt John University Observatory at the University of Canterbury from 1976 to 2008. He is a member of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

and was president of its Commission 30 (on

radial velocities The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the rate of change of the distance or range between the two points. It is equivalent to the vector projection o ...

) from 1997 to 2000. He is a fellow of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

and the

Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) is the New Zealand national astronomical society. It is an association of professional and amateur astronomers with the prime objective to the ''promotion and extension of knowledge of astronom ...

. In 2017, he was honoured with a Queen's Birthday honour for his astronomical work. The

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 ...

5207 Hearnshaw is named after him.

References

Living people 1946 births 20th-century New Zealand astronomers People from Wellington City Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Cambridge Australian National University alumni University of Canterbury alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand University of Canterbury faculty Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand astronomers {{Astronomer-stub