Jean Mueller
Jean Mueller (born 1950) is an American astronomer and discoverer of comets, minor planets, and a large number of supernovas at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.[1]
Scientific career
In 1983, she became the first woman to operate the historic
The
Jean Mueller spent hundreds of hours (in her spare time) scanning POSS II plates under high magnification looking for comets, fast-moving asteroids, and supernovae on an X/Y stage that held the 1 mm thick glass plates. Mueller would sometimes mark over a hundred galaxies recorded on a single POSS II plate to hunt for supernova candidates. She would then compare these plates with the first
Discoveries
| 4257 Ubasti | August 23, 1987 |
4558 Janesick[1] |
July 12, 1988 |
6569 Ondaatje |
June 22, 1993 |
9162 Kwiila |
July 29, 1987 |
| (11028) 1987 UW | October 18, 1987 |
11500 Tomaiyowit[2] |
October 28, 1989 |
12711 Tukmit |
January 19, 1991 |
16465 Basilrowe |
March 24, 1990 |
19204 Joshuatree |
June 21, 1992 |
24658 Misch |
October 18, 1987 |
| (360191) 1988 TA[3] | October 5, 1988 |
| (408752) 1991 TB2 | 3 October 1991 |
| (412976) 1987 WC | 21 November 1987 |
| |
Working at Palomar Observatory, she discovered a total of 15 comets, including 7 periodic comets 120P/Mueller, 131P/Mueller, 136P/Mueller, 149P/Mueller, 173P/Mueller, 188P/LINEAR-Mueller, 190P/Mueller, and 8 non-periodic comets.
She is credited by the
Mueller also discovered 107 (9 listed as co-discoveries) supernovae.[3]
Honors
The inner main-belt asteroid of the
Affiliations
Jean Mueller is an Advisor of the Meade 4M Community who supports her outreach activities.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ a b "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
- ^ "List of Supernovae". www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 10 August 2016.