| 239046 Judysyd | 25 February 2006 | MPC |
| co-discovered withStephen Levine | ||
|---|---|---|
Arne Henden (born 1950) is a retiredAmerican observationalastronomer, instrument and software specialist, and co-discoverer of aminor planet. He formerly served as director of theAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). The asteroid33529 Henden is named after him.[2]
Henden was born inHuron,South Dakota, but as the son of an engineer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he would call several places home as he grew up with his parents and two sisters. His first astronomical brush happened when he had a chance to look atSaturn through the 24" Clarke refractor at theLowell Observatory inFlagstaff, Arizona.
Henden gained his Bachelor of Science in astrophysics in 1972, and his Masters in Physics in 1975 both from theUniversity of New Mexico inAlbuquerque. In 1978 he continued to gain a Masters of Science in 1978 and a Ph.D. in 1985 in Astronomy, both from theIndiana University Bloomington.
Henden moved toOhio State University to work on theLarge Binocular Telescope after gaining his doctorate. He also built several imagers and spectrographs for the 1.8-meter Perkins telescope.
in 1992, he returned to work at theUnited States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) as a senior research scientist, the site where his love for astronomy first started. At NOFS, he specialized in visual and near-IR imaging systems and co-discovered239046 Judysyd, a faintasteroid of themain-belt, in collaboration with astronomerStephen Levine on 25 February 2006.[3] Henden was also part of the team that created specifications for the Discovery Channel's 4.2m telescope. He has also worked on theSloan Digital Sky Survey and consulted for the Radio Astronomy Institute in developing a robotic observatory near theGrand Canyon.
In the Spring of 2004, Henden was named director of theAmerican Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), an organization he had long been a member of.
Henden has authored more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed publications as either primary or co-author. Henden has also positioned himself as a specialist inphotometry by writing one of the classic texts in the subject:Astronomical Photometry (1978: Willman-Bell) Henden has worked extensively with amateurs interested in variable stars and minor planet astrometry mainly through the AAVSO.
He was elected a Legacy Fellow of theAmerican Astronomical Society in 2020.[4]
33529 Henden, a main-belt asteroid discovered by American amateur astronomerCharles Juels in 1999, was officially named in his honor byIAU'sMinor Planet Center on 18 September 2005 (M.P.C. 54827).[2][5]
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