Pamela M. Kilmartin is a
New Zealand astronomer and a co-
discoverer of minor planets and
comets.
She 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
...
with the discovery of 41
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, all in collaboration with her husband, the astronomer
Alan C. Gilmore
Alan Charles Gilmore (born 1944 in Greymouth, New Zealand) is a New Zealand astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets and other astronomical objects.
He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 41 minor planets, all but ...
.
Both astronomers are also active
comet-hunters. She is a Fellow of the
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) and co-director of its "Comets and Minor Planets" section.
The minor planet
3907 Kilmartin, discovered by
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
in 1904, was named in her honour.
Naming citation was published on 21 April 1989 ().
In 1983, the Eunomia asteroid
2537 Gilmore
2537 Gilmore, provisional designation , is a Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 September 1951, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observato ...
was already named after both, Alan and Pamela Gilmore.
In May 2019 Kilmartin and her husband were honored by New Zealand Post with a stamp in its ''New Zealand Space Pioneers'' series.
List of discovered minor planets
References
20th-century New Zealand astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
*
Living people
21st-century New Zealand astronomers
Women astronomers
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{NewZealand-scientist-stub