Kacper Wierzchoś
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Kacper Wierzchoś (born 1988, Lublin, Poland)[1] is a Polish astronomer.
He is the son of Jacek Wierzchoś, chemist, and former employee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Janina Wierzchoś, dentist.[2] In the early 1990s, his family immigrated to Spain, where he graduated in physics from the Complutense University of Madrid.[3] In 2019, he defended his doctorate, concerning comets,[4] at the University of South Florida. He currently works at the Mount Lemmon Survey observatory as part of the Catalina Sky Survey project.[3]
In this context, he discovered several asteroids. In particular, along with Theodore Pruyne he co-discovered 2020 CD3 on 15 February 2020,[1] then a temporary satellite of Earth.[5][6] In April of the same year, he discovered a long-period comet, which consequently bears his name: C/2020 H3 (Wierzchoś).[3] In September 2021, he discovered his second comet, periodic comet: P/2021 R4 (Wierzchoś).[7][4] Other comets discovered by him include: P/2021 U1 (Wierzchos), P/2022 B1 (Wierzchos), C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) and C/2024 G1 (Wierzchos).
He is married and lives with his wife in Tucson, Arizona.[8] He speaks Polish, Spanish, English and Catalan.[8]
The asteroid 594782 Kacperwierzchoś bears his name.[9][10]
Discoveries
Asteroids
On 15 February 2020, together with Theodor Pruyne, he discovered the asteroid 2020 CD3, a temporary satellite of Earth.[5][6] On 13 November 2021, he discovered the asteroid 2021 VN22.[11]
Comets
In April 2020, he discovered a long-period comet that was named after him – C/2020 H3 (Wierzchos).[3] In September 2021, he discovered his second comet – P/2021 R4 (Wierzchos).[7] The third comet – P/2021 U1 (Wierzchos) was discovered by him in October 2021, the fourth – P/2022 B1 (Wierzchos) in January 2022, and the fifth one – C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) in 2024.[12]
References
- 1 2 "Urodził się w Lublinie. Odkrył nowy mały księżyc Ziemi" [Il est né à Lublin. A découvert une nouvelle petite lune de la Terre]. dziennikwschodni.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ↑ "Wierzchoś Jacek i Kacper – z Zamościa do Hiszpanii i w kosmos" [Wierzchoś Jacek et Kacper, de Zamość à l'Espagne et dans l'espace]. weeknikzamojski.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Grażyna Opińska (24 May 2020). "Polak pracujący przy programie obrony planetarnej NASA: wypatruję groźnych asteroid" [Pôle travaillant sur le programme de défense planétaire de la NASA : je cherche des astéroïdes dangereux]. Nauawpolsce.pap.pl. Retrieved 24 May 2020.[permanent dead link]
- 1 2 "Tucson astronomer discovers comet". kold.com. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- 1 2 "A new minimoon was found orbiting earth. There will be more". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- 1 2 "Earth's new 'mini-moon' is leaving soon. But it'll be back". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- 1 2 "MPEC 2021-R256 : COMET P/2021 R4 (Wierzchos)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- 1 2 Stefan Kurti. "Kacper Wierzchoś – The man who guards our peaceful sleep from the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona". Stefan Kürti´s Astro Web. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ↑ "(594782) Kacperwierzchos = 2017 YV15" (PDF). WGSBN Bulletin. Vol. 1, no. 12. 29 November 2021. p. 12.
- ↑ "For Kacperwierzchos read Kacperwierzchoś [(594782) name]" (PDF). WGSBN Bulletin. Vol. 2, no. 8. 13 June 2022. p. 8.
- ↑ "Polak odkrył planetoidę zagrażającą Ziemi". nauka.tvp.pl. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
- ↑ "Piąta kometa odkryta przez polskiego astronoma". nauka.tvp.pl. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
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