James W. Christy

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James Christy (left) and Robert Sutton Harrington , 1978

James Walter Christy (born September 15, 1938 in Milwaukee ) is an American astronomer .

In 1978, at the United States Naval Observatory , he discovered that the dwarf planet Pluto has a moon he named Charon . While evaluating photographic plates, Christy found that Pluto was "bulged". This indicated the existence of a moon.

In modern telescopes, such as the Hubble telescope or earth-based telescopes with adaptive optics , Pluto and Charon can be displayed separately.

In 2008 the asteroid (129564) Christy was named after him.

literature

  • The timetables of science. A chronology of the most important people and events in the history of science. P. 582 ( excerpt )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Minor Planet Circ. 63642
personal data
SURNAME Christy, James W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Christy, James Walter (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Milwaukee