James Ludlow Elliot (June 17, 1943 – March 3, 2011) was an Americanastronomer andscientist who, as part of a team, discovered therings around the planet Uranus.^[2][3] Elliot was also part of a team that observed global warming onTriton, the largest moon ofNeptune.^[4][5]

Elliot was born in 1943 in Columbus, Ohio and received hisS.B. degree from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1965 and hisPh.D. degree fromHarvard University in 1972. He held a postdoctoral position in Laboratory for Planetary Studies atCornell University, and joined the faculty of Cornell's Astronomy Department in 1977. After he discovered Uranus's rings alongside Edward Dunham andJessica Mink at Cornell, he returned to MIT in 1978 to serve as Professor of Physics, Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and Director of theGeorge R. Wallace, Jr. Astrophysical Observatory until his death on March 3, 2011.^[6]

There is some debate on whether Elliot, et al. discovered the rings of Uranus, or whetherWilliam Herschel made an observation in 1797.^[7] However, scientific consensus seems to support Elliot as the discoverer.^[8]

• Main-belt asteroid3193 Elliot, discovered by astronomerEdward Bowell at Anderson Mesa Station in 1983, was named in his honor.^[3] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 June 1986 (M.P.C. 10848).^[9]
• The craterElliot onPluto is also named in his honor.^[10]

Elliot is credited by theMinor Planet Center with the discovery of sevenminor planets,^[1] including the trans-Neptunian object(95625) 2002 GX32, which he co-discovered atCTIO in 2002.^[11]

• List of minor planet discoverers § J. L. Elliot

• 1943 births
• 2011 deaths
• 20th-century American astronomers
• Cornell University alumni
• Cornell University faculty
• Discoveries by James L. Elliot
• Discoverers of minor planets
• Harvard University alumni
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2020