Richard Kowalski
Richard Kowalski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
Richard A. Kowalski(born 1963) is an Americanastronomerwho has discovered numerousasteroidsandcomets,among them, manynear-Earth objects.
Kowalski has had a lifelong interest in astronomy with an emphasis onplanetary science.As anamateurin Florida during the 1990s he developed an interest inastrometricandphotometricobservations of asteroids. He started the "Minor Planet Mailing List" in mid-1997.[1]Kowalski discovered14627 Emilkowalskiin 1998.[2]
In 1999 he was invited to use theJet Propulsion Laboratory's 0.6-mRitchey-Chrétien telescopeto make observations in support of theDeep Space 1mission. Also in 1999 he was the Scientific Coordinator for the first Minor Planet Amateur-Professional Workshop[3]atLowell Observatoryin Flagstaff, Arizona.
He has been a member of theCatalina Sky Survey(CSS) in Tucson, Arizona since September, 2005 and has discovered hundreds of near-Earth andmain-beltasteroids along with thirteen comets. Of these,periodic comet226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalskiwas the recovery ofEdward Pigott's lost comet of 1783. Kowalski discovered the cometC/2013 US10on Halloween morning, 2013.
On October 6, 2008, while observing with the CSS 1.5 meter (60 ") telescope atMount Lemmon Observatory,he discovered2008 TC3.Approximately 20 hours after its discovery this asteroid entered the Earth's atmosphere over Sudan, becoming the first asteroid discovered before impact with the earth.[4]Kowalski was honored with a small piece of2008 TC3.[5]
On January 1, 2014, Kowalski found another impacting asteroid, this was designated2014 AA.The impact zone for this asteroid was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. [6][7][8][9]
The main-belt asteroid7392 Kowalskiis named in his honor.[10]
Kowalski is aFAAcertifiedcommercial pilotholdingInstrumentandflight instructorratings. He also runs a free-lance photography studio inTucson, Arizona.
References
[edit]- ^ Richard Kowalski (21 July 2008)."10 Years of the Minor Planet Mailing List".Minor Planet Mailing List.Archived fromthe originalon January 5, 2013.Retrieved2009-12-22.
- ^ D. Nesvorný; D. Vokrouhlický (2006). "New Candidates for Recent Asteroid Breakups".Astronomical Journal.132(5): 1950–1958.Bibcode:2006AJ....132.1950N.CiteSeerX10.1.1.693.3963.doi:10.1086/507989.S2CID54038063.
- ^ Comba, P. G. (1999). Paul G. Comba (ed.). "Proceedings of the 1999 Minor Planet Amateur/Professional Workshop".1999 Minor Planet Amateur/Professional Workshop. Proceedings.Bibcode:1999mpap.work.....C.
- ^ Steve Chesley; Paul Chodas; Don Yeomans (4 November 2008)."Asteroid 2008 TC3 Strikes Earth: Predictions and Observations Agree".NASA/JPL.Archived fromthe originalon 17 January 2009.Retrieved2009-12-22.
- ^ Richard Kowalski (21 September 2009)."2008 TC3 to Almahatta Sitta and back to Tucson".Minor Planet Mailing List.Archived fromthe originalon July 18, 2012.Retrieved2009-12-22.
- ^NASA (3 January 2014)."The First Discovered Asteroid of 2014 Collides With The Earth - An Update".Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2014.
- ^Kelly Beatty - Sky & Telescope (3 January 2014)."Small Asteroid 2014 AA Hits Earth".
- ^Farnocchia, Davide; Chesley, Steven R.; Brown, Peter G.; Chodas, Paul W. (1 August 2016). "The trajectory and atmospheric impact of asteroid 2014 AA".Icarus.274:327–333.Bibcode:2016Icar..274..327F.doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.02.056.
- ^de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R.; Mialle, P. (13 October 2016). "Homing in for New Year: impact parameters and pre-impact orbital evolution of meteoroid 2014 AA".Astrophysics and Space Science.361(11): 358 (33 pp.).arXiv:1610.01055.Bibcode:2016Ap&SS.361..358D.doi:10.1007/s10509-016-2945-3.S2CID119251345.
- ^ "7392 Kowalski (1984 EX)".JPL Small-Body Database Browser.NASA/JPL.Retrieved2009-12-22.
External links
[edit]- Catalina Sky Surveyhome page
- Atime-lapse videomade the night 2008 TC3 was discovered
- Minor Planet Mailing List
- Full Moon Photography