Donald R. Davis (astronomer)
Donald R. Davis is an American astronomer specializing in the evolution of the Solar System.[1] With William K. Hartmann, he was responsible for proposing a theory in 1975 of the creation of earth's moon by a catastrophic collision.[2] He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the co-discovery of the trans-Neptunian object (49673) 1999 RA215 in 1999.[3][4]
In 2009, he was Academic Director at the Summer Science Program. A few months later, Davis arranged for the naming of an asteroid as 223877 Kutler, after Brendan Kutler—a student, whom he had worked with in that program—died in his sleep.[5]
The main-belt asteroid 3638 Davis is named in his honor.[1][6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Dr. Donald R. Davis". Psi.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "The Origin of the Moon". Psi.edu. 2010-09-07. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 49673 (1999 RA215)" (2013-10-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "49673 (1999 RA215)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ Haims, Eli (1 September 2010). "Summer Science Program". The Chronicle. Los Angeles: Harvard-Westlake School. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3638) Davis". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3638) Davis. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 306. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3636. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- Hartmann, W. K., & Davis, D. R. (1975). Satellite-sized planetesimals and lunar origin. Icarus, 24(4), 504-515.
- Minor Planet Center: Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (45001)-(50000)
- Jewitt, D., & Luu, J. (2000). Physical nature of the Kuiper Belt. In Protostars and Planets IV (Vol. 1, pp. 1201-1229). University of Arizona Press.
- Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Science & Business Media.
- Summer Science Program: Alumni Tribute to Brendan Kutler
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