Charles T. Kowal

Charles Thomas Kowal
Born(1940-11-08)November 8, 1940
Buffalo, New York, USA
DiedNovember 28, 2011(2011-11-28) (aged 71)
Cinebar, Washington, US
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Known forDiscovery of outer Solar System objects
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy
InstitutionsCaltech's Hale Observatory, STScI, APL
Minor planets discovered: 22 [1]
see § List of discovered minor planets

Charles Thomas Kowal (November 8, 1940 – November 28, 2011) was an American astronomer known for his observations and discoveries in the Solar System. As a staff astronomer at Caltech's Mount Wilson and Palomar Mountain observatories between 1961 and 1984, he found the first of a new class of Solar System objects, the centaurs, discovered two moons of the planet Jupiter, and discovered or co-discovered a number of asteroids, comets and supernovae. He was awarded the James Craig Watson Medal for his contributions to astronomy in 1979.

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