Chad Trujillo
Chadwick A. "Chad" Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and the co-discoverer of Eris, the most massive dwarf planet known in the Solar System.[1][2]
Trujillo works with computer software and has examined the orbits of the numerous trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which is the outer area of the Solar System that he specialized in. In late August 2005, it was announced that Trujillo, along with Michael E. Brown and David L. Rabinowitz, had discovered Eris in 2003.[2] As a result of the discovery of the satellite Dysnomia, Eris was the first TNO known to be more massive than Pluto.[3]
Career
Trujillo attended Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois. He received his B.Sc. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995, and was a member of the Xi chapter of Tau Epsilon Phi, and received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaii in 2000. Trujillo was later a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech, and is currently an astronomer at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.[4] He studies the Kuiper belt and the outer Solar System.
The main-belt asteroid 12101 Trujillo is named for him.[1]
List of discoveries
| (15874) 1996 TL66[5][6][7] | 9 October 1996 |
| (15875) 1996 TP66[5][6] | 11 October 1996 |
| (15883) 1997 CR29[6][7] | 3 February 1997 |
| (19308) 1996 TO66[5][6] | 12 October 1996 |
| (20161) 1996 TR66[5][6][7] | 8 October 1996 |
| (24952) 1997 QJ4[4][5][6] | 28 August 1997 |
| (24978) 1998 HJ151[5][6][9] | 28 April 1998 |
| (26375) 1999 DE9 [5] | February 20, 1999 |
| (33001) 1997 CU29[5][6][7] | 6 February 1997 |
| 50000 Quaoar [1] | June 4, 2002 |
| (59358) 1999 CL158[5][6] | 11 February 1999 |
| (60608) 2000 EE173 [3][5] | March 3, 2000 |
| 65489 Ceto[1] | March 22, 2003 |
| 66652 Borasisi[5][6] | 8 September 1999 |
| 79360 Sila–Nunam [5][6][7] | February 3, 1997 |
| (79969) 1999 CP133[5][6] | 11 February 1999 |
| (79978) 1999 CC158[5][6][8] | 15 February 1999 |
| (79983) 1999 DF9[5][6] | 20 February 1999 |
| (84719) 2002 VR128 [1] | November 3, 2002 |
| 90377 Sedna [1][2] | November 14, 2003 |
| 90482 Orcus [1][2] | February 17, 2004 |
| (91554) 1999 RZ215[5][6] | 8 September 1999 |
| (118228) 1996 TQ66 [5][6][7] | October 8, 1996 |
| (119951) 2002 KX14 [1] | May 17, 2002 |
| (120178) 2003 OP32 [1][2] | July 26, 2003 |
| (120348) 2004 TY364 [1][2] | October 3, 2004 |
| (126154) 2001 YH140 [1] | December 18, 2001 |
| (126155) 2001 YJ140 [1] | December 20, 2001 |
| (129746) 1999 CE119[5][6] | 10 February 1999 |
| (134568) 1999 RH215[5][6] | 7 September 1999 |
| 136199 Eris [1][2] | January 8, 2005 |
| 136472 Makemake [1][2] | March 31, 2005 |
| (137294) 1999 RE215[5][6] | 7 September 1999 |
| (137295) 1999 RB216[5][6] | 8 September 1999 |
| (148112) 1999 RA216[5][6] | 8 September 1999 |
| (168700) 2000 GE147 [6][7] | April 2, 2000 |
| (175113) 2004 PF115 [1][2] | August 7, 2004 |
| (181867) 1999 CV118[5][6] | 10 February 1999 |
| (181868) 1999 CG119[5][6] | 11 February 1999 |
| (181871) 1999 CO153[5][6] | 12 February 1999 |
| (181902) 1999 RD215[5][6] | 6 September 1999 |
| (208996) 2003 AZ84 [1] | January 13, 2003 |
| (250112) 2002 KY14 [1] | May 19, 2002 |
| (307251) 2002 KW14 [1] | May 15, 2002 |
| (307261) 2002 MS4 [1] | June 19, 2002 |
| 341520 Mors–Somnus [8] | October 14, 2007 |
| (385201) 1999 RN215 [5][6] | September 7, 1999 |
| 385571 Otrera [8] | October 16, 2004 |
| (385695) 2005 TO74 [8] | October 8, 2005 |
| (415720) 1999 RU215 [5][6] | September 7, 1999 |
| (469306) 1999 CD158 [5][6] | February 10, 1999 |
| (471143) 2010 EK139 [8][11][12] | March 13, 2010 |
| (471165) 2010 HE79 [8][10][11] | April 21, 2010 |
| (471921) 2013 FC28) [8] | March 17, 2013 |
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Trujillo is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery and co-discovery of 50 numbered minor planets between 1996 and 2007, including many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the Kuiper belt (see table).[5] The last major TNO, Eris, was considered by him, his team, NASA, and many others to be the tenth planet,[4] but the International Astronomical Union assigned it to the new dwarf planet and plutoid status.
The known plutoids are:
- Quaoar, co-discovered with Brown
- Sedna , co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz, possibly the first known inner Oort cloud object
- Orcus, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz
- Eris, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz – the only known TNO more massive than Pluto[3]
- Haumea, discovery credited to the Sierra Nevada Observatory, Spain (also see José Luis Ortiz Moreno).[6]
- Makemake, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz in 2005, one of the first 5 official dwarf planets.[7]
References
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (12101) Trujillo. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 776. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- 1 2 "136199 Eris (2003 UB313)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- 1 2 Brown, Michael E.; Schaller, Emily L. (June 2007). "The Mass of Dwarf Planet Eris". Science. 316 (5831): 1585. Bibcode:2007Sci...316.1585B. doi:10.1126/science.1139415. PMID 17569855. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- 1 2 "UH Alumnus Chad Trujillo Helps in Discovery of 10th Planet". Nupepa. August 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ↑ "136108 Haumea (2003 EL61)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ "136472 Makemake (2005 FY9)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
External links
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