Jana Tichá (born 1965 in České Budějovice) is a Czechastronomer and discoverer of minor planets. She studied at the University of Economics in Prague and graduated in 1987. In 1992 she was selected for the position of a director of the Kleť Observatory.
She specializes in discoveries of asteroids and comets especially near-Earth objects (NEOs). The Minor Planet Center credits her with the discovery of 104 numbered minor planets during 1995–2003.[1] She is the chair of the IAUCommittee on Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN), which is responsible for approving names of asteroids. She works together with her husband Miloš Tichý at Kleť.[2]
In her country she is also well known for her popularization activities. She is major contributor to the Czech web servers about asteroids and comets.
On 3 May 1996 the asteroid 5757 Tichá was named in her honour (M.P.C. 27128),[2][3] while she named her discovery, the main-belt asteroid 8307 Peltan, after several members of her family.[4]
^ Jump up to: abSchmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(5757) Tichá". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (5757) Tichá. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 487. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5426. ISBN978-3-540-00238-3.
^Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(8307) Peltan". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (8307) Peltan. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 643. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_6954. ISBN978-3-540-00238-3.