Dick Walker (astronomer)

Dick Walker
Walker, c. 1980s
Born	Richard Lee Walker Jr. (1938-03-09)March 9, 1938 Hampton, Iowa, US
Died	March 30, 2005(2005-03-30) (aged 69) Flagstaff, Arizona, US
Occupation	Astronomer
Spouses	Ruth Bishop ​ (m. 1960)​ Patricia Browning ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	3
Academic background
Education	University of Northern Iowa University of Iowa (BA) Georgetown University

Richard Lee Walker Jr. (March 9, 1938 – March 30, 2005) was an American astronomer known for his observations of double stars and for discovering Epimetheus, an inner moon of Saturn. Interested in astronomy since his youth, he graduated from the University of Iowa in 1963 after studying physics and astronomy under James Van Allen and Satoshi Matsushima. He began work at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) in Washington, D. C., in 1963. Initially assigned to the USNO's Time Service, he switched to work observing double stars alongside Kaj Strand.

Walker continued his focus on double stars after transfer to the USNO Flagstaff Station in 1966, ultimately making 8,000 measurements over the course of his career. Shortly after his arrival in Flagstaff, he discovered a small inner moon of Saturn. Initially identified with Audouin Dollfus's newly-discovered Janus, it was confirmed as a separate moon twelve years later and named Epimetheus. He retired from the Naval Observatory in 1999, but continued to work as an astronomical consultant. The main-belt asteroid 10717 Dickwalker was named in his honor.