William A. Bradfield

Bill Bradfield
Born(1927-06-20)20 June 1927
Levin, New Zealand
Died9 June 2014(2014-06-09) (aged 86)
NationalityNew Zealand
CitizenshipAustralian
Alma materUniversity of New Zealand
Known fordiscovering a record 18 comets
SpouseEileen[1]
ChildrenKatherine, Caroline, and Jennifer[2]
AwardsMember of the Order of Australia, Edgar Wilson Award
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

William Ashley Bradfield AM (20 June 1927 – 9 June 2014) was a New Zealand-born Australian amateur astronomer, notable as a prolific amateur discoverer of comets.[3] He discovered 18 comets, all of which bear his name as the sole discoverer.[4]

His astronomical achievements were summed up by Brian G. Marsden, director emeritus of the IAU's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams: "To discover 18 comets visually is an extraordinary accomplishment in any era, but to do so now is truly remarkable, and I think we can be pretty sure nobody will be able to do it again. And it's all the more astounding that in no case did he have to share a discovery with some other independent discoverer. More than any other recipient, Bill Bradfield outstandingly deserves the Edgar Wilson Award."[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference People 1988 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference S&T 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Eicher, David (16 June 2014). "Guest blog: Comet hunter William Bradfield dies". Astronomy Magazine. Cs.astronomy.com. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  4. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser search for "Bradfield"". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 19 August 2014.