Simon F. Green (born 1959) is an

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 ...

. He is a Senior Lecturer in Planetary and Space Science at the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. He specializes in the study of

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 and trans-Neptunian objects, and for a long time worked with the

IRAS The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (Dutch: ''Infrarood Astronomische Satelliet'') (IRAS) was the first space telescope to perform a survey of the entire night sky at infrared wavelengths. Launched on 25 January 1983, its mission lasted ten mo ...

satellite to detect fast moving objects. In 1983, along with John K. Davies, he discovered the Apollo asteroid

3200 Phaethon 3200 Phaethon (previously sometimes spelled Phaeton), provisional designation , is an active Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid (though there are numerous unnamed asteroids with smaller ...

. Asteroid 9831 Simongreen is named after him.MPC page with dedication.
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References

Notes

1959 births Living people Academics of the Open University 21st-century British astronomers Planetary scientists 20th-century British astronomers {{UK-astronomer-stub