Norman G. Thomas

Minor planets discovered: 55 [1]
see § List of discovered minor planets

Norman Gene Thomas (May 1, 1930 - May 19, 2020) was an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets.[2]

He worked at Lowell Observatory[3] using the blink comparator alongside Robert Burnham, Jr., author of the famous three-volume Celestial Handbook.

He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 55 numbered minor planets during 1964–1989,[1] including the Apollo asteroids 4544 Xanthus[4] and 4581 Asclepius, as well as the Amor asteroid 3352 McAuliffe.

The main-belt asteroid 2555 Thomas, discovered by Edward Bowell at Anderson Mesa Station in 1980, was named in his honor.[5] Naming citation was published on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6835).[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Norman Gene Thomas". Daily sun. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ Science News, Vol. 135, No. 18 (May 6, 1989), p. 28
  4. ^ Dealing with the Threat of an Asteroid Striking the Earth: An AIAA Position Paper Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine at the National Space Society
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference springer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Circulars-Archive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).