Carl A. Wirtanen
1600 Vyssotsky | October 22, 1947 |
1685 Toro | July 17, 1948 |
1747 Wright | July 14, 1947 |
1863 Antinous | March 7, 1948 |
1951 Lick | July 26, 1949 |
2044 Wirt | November 8, 1950 |
6107 Osterbrock | January 14, 1948 |
(29075) 1950 DA | February 22, 1950 |
Carl Alvar Wirtanen (November 11, 1910, Kenosha, Wisconsin – March 7, 1990 Santa Cruz, California) was an American astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets who worked at Lick Observatory.[2][3] He was of Finnish ancestry.
Wirtanen discovered periodic comet 46P/Wirtanen, as well as eight asteroids, including notably the Apollo asteroid (29075) 1950 DA, which may have a non-negligible probability of impacting the Earth in the year 2880. He also discovered two other Apollo asteroids: 1685 Toro and 1863 Antinous. Based on the Shane–Wirtanen survey, the Shane Wirtanen Catalogue, a count of galaxies, was his major work published in 1954.[4]
The asteroid 2044 Wirt, discovered by himself at Lick Observatory in 1950, was named in his honor in on 1 January 1981 (M.P.C. 5688). The name was proposed by his colleague Arnold Klemola.[3][5]
References[]
- ^ "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ Klemola, Arnold Richard (September 1991). "Obituary: Carl Alvar Wirtanen, 1910-1990". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 23 (4): 1495–1496. Bibcode:1991BAAS...23.1495K. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2044) Wirt". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2044) Wirt. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 166. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2045. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ Brown, Michael E.; Groth, Edward J. (March 1989). "The Shane Wirtanen counts – Observability of the galaxy correlation function" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal. 338: 605–617. Bibcode:1989ApJ...338..605B. doi:10.1086/167222.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- 1910 births
- 1990 deaths
- 20th-century American astronomers
- American people of Finnish descent
- Discoverers of asteroids
- Discoverers of comets
- Discoveries by Carl A. Wirtanen
- Lick Observatory
- People from Kenosha, Wisconsin
- American astronomer stubs