Carolyn S. Shoemaker

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Carolyn S. Shoemaker
Born (1929-06-24) June 24, 1929
Gallup, New Mexico, United States
Citizenship American
Nationality American
Fields Astronomy
Institutions California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, California
Palomar Observatory, San Diego, California
Known for co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9
Notable awards National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
Spouse Eugene Shoemaker

Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (born June 4, 1929) is an American astronomer and is a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.[1] She holds the record for most comets discovered by an individual.[2]

Personal life

Carolyn Jean Spellmann was born in Gallup, New Mexico, United States.[2] She is the widow of Eugene Shoemaker, a planetary scientist.[2]

Career

Shoemaker started her astronomical career in 1980, searching for Earth-crossing asteroids and comets at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, and the Palomar Observatory, San Diego, California.[3]

In the 1980s and 1990s, Shoemaker used film taken at the wide-field telescope at the Palomar Observatory, combined with a stereoscope, to find objects which moved against the background of fixed stars.[2]

As of 2002, Shoemaker had discovered 32 comets and over 800 asteroids (counting the as-yet unnumbered ones).[2][3]

Awards

Shoemaker received an honorary doctorate from the Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1996.[2] She and her husband were awarded the James Craig Watson Medal by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1998.[4]

Asteroids discovered

References

  1. ↑ Mestel, Rosie (9 July 1994). "Carolyn Shoemaker and 'Her Comet'". New Scientist 143 (1933). p. 23. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Carolyn Shoemaker". Astrogeology Science Center. USGS. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "She's Looking Out for Us". Explorer (American Association of Petroleum Geologists). May 2001. 
  4. ↑ "James Craig Watson Medal". National Academy of Sciences. 

External links

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