David L. Rabinowitz


David Lincoln Rabinowitz is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and researcher at Yale University.

Career

David Rabinowitz has built CCD cameras and software for the detection of near-Earth and Kuiper belt objects, and his research has helped reduce the assumed number of near-Earth asteroids larger than 1 km by half, from 1,000–2,000 to 500–1,000 He has also assisted in the detection of distant solar system objects, supernovae, and quasars, thereby helping to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system and the dark energy driving the accelerated expansion of the universe.
Collaborating with Michael Brown and Chad Trujillo of the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team, he has participated in the discovery of several plutoids such as 90377 Sedna, 90482 Orcus, Eris,, and, although he would not get credit for Haumea.
Together with Tom Gehrels of the University of Arizona and his Spacewatch team, Rabinowitz discovered or co-discovered other astronomical objects including 5145 Pholus – a Centaur, credited by the MPC to Spacewatch– and the unnumbered Apollo near-Earth object 1991 BA, which remains uncredited..

Awards and honors

The minor planet 5040 Rabinowitz, a Phocaea asteroid discovered by Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in 1972, was named in his honor and for his work at Spacewatch.

List of discovered minor planets

David Rabinowitz is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery and co-discovery of 34 minor planets during 1989–2010.
90377 Sedna14 November 2003 
90482 OrcusFebruary 17, 2004 
'July 26, 2003 
'October 3, 2004 
136199 ErisOctober 21, 2003 
136472 MakemakeMarch 31, 2005 
August 7, 2004 
May 10, 2007 
225088 GonggongJuly 17, 2007 
229762 GǃkúnǁʼhòmdímàJuly 17, 2007 

March 17, 2010 
March 18, 2010 
March 19, 2010 
March 19, 2010 
April 14, 2010 
May 12, 2010 
August 14, 2010 
November 3, 2010 
October 27, 1989 
August 14, 2010 

1992AD is with a comet-like orbit of 92.26 years without a tail, which orbits between Saturn and Neptune. It was discovered by Rabinowitz in 1992 and was officially named Pholus. Another body that he discovered in 1993 was named Nessus with an orbit of 123.2 years. This one orbits between Saturn and Pluto.