Richard Kowalski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 (age 61–62) |
| Occupation | Astronomer |
Richard A. Kowalski (born 1963) is an Americanastronomer who has discovered numerousasteroids andcomets, among them, manynear-Earth objects.
Kowalski has had a lifelong interest in astronomy with an emphasis onplanetary science. As anamateur in Florida during the 1990s he developed an interest inastrometric andphotometric observations of asteroids. He started the "Minor Planet Mailing List" in mid-1997.[1] Kowalski discovered14627 Emilkowalski in 1998.[2]
In 1999 he was invited to use theJet Propulsion Laboratory's 0.6-mRitchey-Chrétien telescope to make observations in support of theDeep Space 1 mission. Also in 1999 he was the Scientific Coordinator for the first Minor Planet Amateur-Professional Workshop[3] atLowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
He has been a member of theCatalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Tucson, Arizona since September, 2005 and has discovered hundreds of near-Earth andmain-belt asteroids along with thirteen comets. Of these,periodic comet226P/Pigott-LINEAR-Kowalski was the recovery ofEdward Pigott's lost comet of 1783. Kowalski discovered the cometC/2013 US10 on Halloween morning, 2013.
On October 6, 2008, while observing with the CSS 1.5 meters (59 in) telescope atMount Lemmon Observatory, he discovered2008 TC3. Approximately 20 hours after its discovery this asteroid entered the Earth's atmosphere over Sudan, becoming the first asteroid discovered before impact with the earth.[4] Kowalski was honored with a small piece of2008 TC3.[5]
On January 1, 2014, Kowalski found another impacting asteroid, this was designated2014 AA. The impact zone for this asteroid was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.[6][7][8][9]
The main-belt asteroid7392 Kowalski is named in his honor.[10]
Kowalski is aFAA certifiedcommercial pilot holdingInstrument andflight instructor ratings. He also runs a free-lance photography studio inTucson, Arizona.