Matthew J. Holman (born 1967) is a
Smithsonian astrophysicist and lecturer at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. Holman studied at
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...
, where he received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
in 1989 and his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in
planetary science
Planetary science (or more rarely, planetology) is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), celestial bodies (such as moons, asteroids, comets) and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes of their f ...
in 1994. He was awarded the
Newcomb Cleveland Prize The Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is annually awarded to author(s) of outstanding scientific paper published in the Research Articles or Reports sections of ''Science''. Established in 192 ...
in 1998.
From 25 January 2015 to 9 February 2021, he held the position of an interim director of IAU's
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), after former director
Timothy B. Spahr had stepped down. Holman was followed by Matthew Payne as new director of the MPC.
He was a Salina Central High School (Kansas) classmate and fellow debate team member of Joe Miller, Alaskan Senate candidate. The main-belt asteroid
3666 Holman was named in his honour in 1999 ().
Discoveries
For the period between 1999 and 2000, Holman is credited by the MPC with the discovery and co-discovery of several
trans-Neptunian object
A trans-Neptunian object (TNO), also written transneptunian object, is any minor planet in the Solar System that orbits the Sun at a greater average distance than Neptune, which has a semi-major axis of 30.1 astronomical units (au).
Typically, ...
s such as and ''(see table)'' and has been an active observer of
centaurs
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
.
He was also part of a team that discovered numerous
irregular moon
In astronomy, an irregular moon, irregular satellite or irregular natural satellite is a natural satellite following a distant, inclined, and often eccentric and retrograde orbit. They have been captured by their parent planet, unlike regular sat ...
s:
* Discovered
moons of Neptune
The planet Neptune has 14 known moons, which are named for minor water deities in Greek mythology. By far the largest of them is Triton, discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, 17 days after the discovery of Neptune itself; over a cent ...
(
full list):
**
Halimede – in 2002 with
J.J. Kavelaars,
T. Grav, W. Fraser and
D. Milisavljevic
**
Sao
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
– in 2002 with J.J. Kavelaars, T. Grav, W. Fraser, D. Milisavljevic
**
Laomedeia – in 2002, with J.J. Kavelaars, T. Grav, W. Fraser, D. Milisavljevic
**
Neso – in 2002, with
B. Gladman et al.
* Discovered
moons of Uranus
Uranus, the seventh planet of the Solar System, has 27 known moons, most of which are named after characters that appear in, or are mentioned in, the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. Uranus's moons are divided into three groups: t ...
(
full list):
**
Prospero
Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...
– in 1999, with J.J. Kavelaars, B. Gladman,
J.-M. Petit,
H. Scholl
**
Setebos – in 1999, with J.J. Kavelaars, B. Gladman, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl
**
Stephano – in 1999, with B. Gladman, J.J. Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, H. Scholl
**
Trinculo – in 2001, with J.J. Kavelaars, D. Milisavljevic
**
Francisco
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco (name), Paco". Francis of Assisi, San Francisco de Asís was known as '' ...
– in 2001, with J.J. Kavelaars, D. Milisavljevic, T. Grav
**
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
– in 2001, with D. Milisavljevic, J.J. Kavelaars, T. Grav
* Discovered
moons of Saturn
The moons of Saturn are numerous and diverse, ranging from tiny moonlets only tens of meters across to enormous Titan (moon), Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury. Saturn has 83 natural satellite, moons with confirmed ...
(
full list):
**
Albiorix – in 2000, with
T.B. Spahr
See also
*
List of minor planet discoverers
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 ...
References
External links
Matthew J. Holman homepage at
Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian
The Minor Planet Center Status ReportMatthew Holman, ''8 November 2015''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Matthew
1967 births
American astronomers
Discoverers of moons
Discoverers of minor planets
*
Harvard University faculty
Living people
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
Planetary scientists
Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics people