| 1600 Vyssotsky | October 22, 1947 |
| 1685 Toro | July 17, 1948 |
| 1747 Wright | July 14, 1947 |
| 1863 Antinous | March 7, 1948 |
| 1951 Lick | July 26, 1949 |
| 2044 Wirt | November 8, 1950 |
| 6107 Osterbrock | January 14, 1948 |
| (29075) 1950 DA | February 22, 1950 |
Carl Alvar Wirtanen (November 11, 1910 – March 7, 1990) was anAmericanastronomer and discoverer ofcomets andminor planets who worked atLick Observatory.[2][3] He was of Finnish ancestry.
Wirtanen was born inKenosha, Wisconsin.[4] After visiting the observatory in Kenosha with his violin teacher at age 12, he started grinding mirrors.[4] Wirtanen joined the staff at Lick Observatory in 1941. During the Second World War, he took a job as a physicist at theCalifornia Institute of Technology and worked on ballistics at theNaval Ordnance Test Station in theMojave Desert. He returned to Lick Observatory after the war, remaining there until his retirement in 1978.[4]
Wirtanen discovered periodic comet46P/Wirtanen,[5] as well as eightasteroids, including notably theApollo asteroid(29075) 1950 DA, which may have a non-negligible probability of impacting the Earth in the year 2880. He also discovered two other Apollo asteroids:1685 Toro and1863 Antinous. Based on theShane–Wirtanen survey, the Shane Wirtanen Catalogue, a count of galaxies, was his major work published in 1954.[6]
The asteroid2044 Wirt, discovered by himself at Lick Observatory in 1950, was named in his honor in on 1 January 1981 (M.P.C. 5688). The name was proposed by his colleagueArnold Klemola.[3][7]
Wirtanen died inSanta Cruz, California in 1990 following a lengthy illness. His remains were scattered at sea.[4]
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