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Donald Edward Machholz (October 7, 1952 – August 9, 2022) was an American amateur astronomer who was credited with the discovery of 12 comets that bear his name.
Donald Machholz | |
|---|---|
 Machholz in November 2019 | |
| Born | Donald Edward Machholz October 7, 1952 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.[1] |
| Died | August 9, 2022 (aged 69) Wikieup, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation | Amateur astronomer |
| Years active | 1970–2022 |
| Spouse |
Michele Machholz
(m. 2014) |
In 2014, he married photojournalist Michele Machholz. They resided at the Stargazer Ranch in Wikieup, Arizona. [1]
Machholz died in the early morning of August 9, 2022, at his home in Wikieup, Arizona, from complications of COVID-19.[2][3][4] His obituary at Astronomy stated, "In the years leading up to his death, Machholz was considered the most prolific visual comet discoverer alive."[3]
He spent more than 9,000 hours comet hunting in a career spanning over 50 years.[1][5] These comets include the periodic comets 96P/Machholz, 141P/Machholz, the non-periodic C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) that were visible with binoculars in the northern sky in 2004 and 2005, C/2010 F4 (Machholz), and C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto)[6][7] In 1985, comet Machholz 1985-e, was discovered using a homemade cardboard telescope with a wide aperture, 10 inches across, that gave it a broader field of view than most commercial telescopes.[8] Machholz utilized a variety of methods in his comet discoveries, in 1986 using 29×130 binoculars he discovered 96P/Machholz.[9]
Machholz was one of the inventors of the Messier Marathon, which is a race to observe all the Messier objects in a single night.[3]
Asteroid 245983 Machholz, discovered by Kazimieras Černis, was named in honor of Machholz in November 2017.[10]
Comets discovered
- 1978 Comet Machholz (1978l)
- 1985 Comet Machholz (1985e)
- 1986 Comet 96P/Machholz
- 1988 Comet Machholz (1988j)
- 1992 Comet Tanaka-Machholz (1992d)
- 1992 Comet Machholz (1992k)
- 1994 Comet Nakamura-Nishimura-Machholz (1994m)
- 1994 Comet 141P/Machholz 2
- 1994 Comet Machholz 1994r
- 2004 Comet Machholz (C/2004 Q2)
- 2010 Comet Machholz C/2010 F4
- 2018 C/2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto)
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- 1978 Tuthill Comet Award Roger Tuthill for discovering Comet Machholz (1978L)
- 1985 Tuthill Comet Award Roger Tuthill for discovering Comet Machholz (1986e)
- 1986 Tuthill Comet Award Roger Tuthill for discovering Periodic Comet Machholz 1 (1986e)
- 1994 Walter H. Haas Award Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
- 1995 Machholz was the recipient of the G. Bruce Blair Medal
- 2000 Peggy Haas Service Award Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers Service to Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
- 2005 Edgar Wilson Award Harvard's Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for discovering Comet Machholz C/2004 Q2
- 2010 Edgar Wilson Award Harvard's Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for discovering Comet Machholz C/2010 F4
- 2017 Asteroid 245983 Machholz discovered by Kazimieras Černis was named in honor of Donald Machholz in November 2017
- 2018 Edgar Wilson Award Harvard's Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for discovering Comet C/2018 V1 Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto
- 2021 Leslie C. Peltier Award Astronomical League for the visual discovery of 12 comets and contributions to astronomy
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- The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon: A Handbook and Atlas
- Decade of Comets: A Study of the 33 Comets Discovered by Amateur Astronomers Between 1975 and 1984
- An observer's guide to comet Hale-Bopp: Making the most of Comet Hale-Bopp: when and where to observe Comet Hale-Bopp and what to look for
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