Eleanor F. Helin

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Eleanor F. Helin
discoverer of minor planets
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsCaltech · JPL
Notable studentsCelina Mikolajczak
Minor planets discovered: 903 [1]
see § List of discovered minor planets

Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis,[2] 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[3][4][5] (Some sources give her name as Eleanor Kay Helin.)

Helin was a prolific

107P/Wilson–Harrington. Although Wilson and Harrington preceded her by some decades, their observations did not establish an orbit for the object, while her rediscovery did. Helin discovered or co-discovered 903 asteroids and several comets.[6]

Biography

Helin was born an only child to Fred and Kay Francis. At the age of five, she became ill with polio, which caused her to be bed-ridden for several months.[7]

Helin studied geology at Occidental College, leaving just shy of her graduation in 1954.[8] She married Ron Helin and started working at California Institute of Technology, where she and Bruce C. Murray started the Lunar Research Lab to prepare for lunar landing missions.[7]

Helin was active in planetary science and astronomy at the

near-Earth asteroids discovered worldwide.[5] Using the 18-inch Schmidt telescope, Helin discovered her first asteroid on July 4, 1973.[7]

In 1980, Helin started working at

JPL,[8] where she organized and coordinated the International Near-Earth Asteroid Survey
(INAS) during the 1980s, encouraging and stimulating worldwide interest in asteroids. In recognition of her accomplishments, she received NASA's Exceptional Service Medal.

Eleanor Elin at work.

After conducting the PCAS photographic search program from Palomar for nearly 25 years, Helin concentrated on the new, upgraded

Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
(NEAT) search program using electronic sensors on a large aperture telescope. She was the principal investigator for this program operating from JPL, for which she received the 1997 JPL Award for Excellence. She also received NASA's Group Achievement Award for the NEAT Team.

In operation from 1995 to 2007, NEAT was the first autonomous observing program; no JPL personnel were on-site, only the JPL Sunspark computer which ran the observing system through the night and transmitted the data back to JPL each morning for team member review and confirmation. NEAT detected over 26,000 objects, including 31 near-Earth asteroids, two long period comets and the unique object,

semi-major axis 256.601 AU
).

Helin retired from NASA in 2002, and died on January, 2009.

Caltech Optical Observatories hosted a Helin Commemorative Workshop on 28 September 2010 to honour the contributions of Eleanor and Ronald Helin.[9] Palomar Observatory opened an exhibit dedicated to her and her work with the 18-inch Schmidt telescope in September 2013.[5]

Awards and honors

The Mars-crossing asteroid

M.P.C. 11641).[11]

In 1991, the USS Helin debuted on the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The ship was named after her for "having discovered an unprecedented number of asteroids and comets".[12]

In 1992, Helin received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Occidental College.[12]

Helin was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. In 1998 she was inducted to the Women in Technology Hall of Fame.[8][13]

Discoveries by Helin

See also: Category:Discoveries by Eleanor F. Helin

Helin is credited by the

near-Earth objects.[1][10]

She also discovered:

Comets discovered by Helin include:

List of discovered minor planets

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ISBN 9781438110189
    . Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Eleanor Francis Helin". WITI Hall of Fame. Women in Technology International. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  4. ^ Malerbo, Dan (4 March 2010). "Let's Learn About: Dr. Eleanor F. Helin". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "The Helin Commemorative Exhibit: Searching the Sky for Dangerous Neighbors". Palomar Observatory. California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Eleanor Helin". www.planetary.org. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Lee Siegel (7 February 1993). "20-Year Quest Makes Astronomer No. 1 in Finding Doomsday Asteroids : Space: Eleanor (Glo) Helin has spent decades showing why it is important to seek out what was once called 'the vermin of astronomy.' The thrill of the hunt is what spurs her on". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Lori Ferguson. "Guardians of the galaxy". Occidental Magazine. Spring 2017: 30–31.
  9. ^ "Helin Commemorative Workshop: Near Earth Asteroids". Caltech Optical Observatories. California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3
    .
  11. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Eleanor Helin Exhibit". www.astro.caltech.edu. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Eleanor Francis Helin". WITI. Retrieved 26 August 2019.

External links

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