David L. Rabinowitz

David L. Rabinowitz
David Lincoln Rabinowitz working at the NEAT-Project
Born	1960 (age 63–64)
Alma mater	Yale University University of Chicago
Known for	Co-discoverer of the new population of dwarf planets in the outer solar system
Scientific career
Fields	Astrophysics
Institutions	Yale University's Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Thesis	(1988)
Website	physics.yale.edu/people/david-rabinowitz

David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and researcher at Yale University.

Career

David Rabinowitz has built CCD cameras and software for the detection of near-Earth and Kuiper belt objects,^[1] and his research has helped reduce the assumed number of near-Earth asteroids larger than 1 km by half, from 1,000–2,000 to 500–1,000.^[2] He has also assisted in the detection of distant solar system objects, supernovae, and quasars, thereby helping to understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System and the dark energy driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.

Collaborating with Michael Brown and Chad Trujillo of the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team, he has participated in the discovery of several possible dwarf planets such as 90377 Sedna (possibly the first known inner Oort cloud object), 90482 Orcus,^[3] Eris (more massive than Pluto^[4]), Haumea,^[5] and Makemake,^[6] though no-one would get credit for Haumea.

Together with Tom Gehrels of the University of Arizona and his Spacewatch team, Rabinowitz discovered or co-discovered other astronomical objects including 5145 Pholus^[7] – a Centaur, credited by the MPC to Spacewatch^[8]– and the unnumbered Apollo near-Earth object 1991 BA, which remains uncredited.^[9]

Awards and honors

The minor planet 5040 Rabinowitz, a Phocaea asteroid discovered by Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in 1972, was named in his honor and for his work at Spacewatch.^[10]

List of discovered minor planets

David Rabinowitz is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery and co-discovery of 34 minor planets during 1989–2010.^[11]

1992AD is with a comet-like orbit of 92.26 years without a tail, which orbits between Saturn and Neptune. It was discovered by Rabinowitz in 1992 and was officially named Pholus. Another body that he discovered in 1993 was named Nessus with an orbit of 123.2 years. This one orbits between Saturn and Pluto.^[12]

References

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