James Whitney Young

James W. Young
Born	24 January 1941 Portland, Oregon
Fields	Astronomy

James Whitney Young (January 24, 1941) is an American astronomer who worked in the field of asteroid research. After nearly 47 years with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at their Table Mountain Facility, Young retired July 16, 2009.

He was a very prolific asteroid observer of both physical properties and astrometric positions, and had discovered some 390 main belt asteroids since 2002, as well as two NEOs (2003 BV35 and 2003 RW11), two Trojan asteroids (2002 VQ and 2003 FE42), three Mars crossers, (2005 SA, 2005 SB, and 2007 WX3), and one extra-galactic supernova (SN 2004eg).

Biography

Asteroids discovered: 251
(115485) 2003 UR19	October 22, 2003
(116903) 2004 GW	April 11, 2004
(128621) 2004 RD	September 2, 2004
(129066) 2004 VY28	November 7, 2004
(134010) 2004 VW28	November 7, 2004
(143052) 2002 WY2	November 24, 2002
(145166) 2005 JL	May 3, 2005
(147735) 2005 NE	July 2, 2005
(147799) 2005 RA34	September 15, 2005
(149450) 2003 CE14	February 6, 2003
(149976) 2005 UO6	October 24, 2005
(152212) 2005 RG	September 1, 2005
(152471) 2005 WE1	November 21, 2005
(158621) 2003 BJ	January 20, 2003
(161384) 2003 UK25	October 24, 2003
(163950) 2003 UN22	October 23, 2003
(166609) 2002 RF232	September 8, 2002
(170025) 2002 VO	November 2, 2002
(170026) 2002 VV2	November 4, 2002
(170027) 2002 VH5	November 5, 2002
(171287) 2006 GK3	April 7, 2006
(172460) 2003 RT11	September 15, 2003
(172533) 2003 UO9	October 20, 2003
(172627) 2003 XP10	December 9, 2003
(173075) 2006 UC	October 16, 2006
(174758) 2003 VX2	November 14, 2003
(177065) 2003 FP7	March 30, 2003
(177245) 2003 WB	November 17, 2003
(177625) 2004 JD	May 8, 2004
(180103) 2003 FX6	March 26, 2003
(180213) 2003 UM8	October 19, 2003
(180216) 2003 UY9	October 20, 2003
(180537) 2004 EB1	March 14, 2004
(180731) 2004 JW35	May 13, 2004
(181492) 2006 UU1	October 16, 2006
(183309) 2002 VQ	November 2, 2002
(183501) 2003 FU4	March 25, 2003
(184064) 2004 GM	April 10, 2004
(186728) 2004 CH2	February 12, 2004
(187304) 2005 UV	October 23, 2005
(188588) 2005 NP29	July 8, 2005
(188721) 2005 UU	October 23, 2005
189944 Leblanc	October 3, 2003
(190118) 2004 VR60	November 10, 2004
(191323) 2003 KN	May 22, 2003
(191485) 2003 TO2	October 7, 2003
(191621) 2004 MN3	June 19, 2004
(196297) 2003 FA	March 21, 2003
(196926) 2003 UG5	October 18, 2003
(199742) 2006 JD	May 1, 2006
(202084) 2004 SE56	September 30, 2004
(206462) 2003 TN10	October 15, 2003
(206755) 2004 CJ2	February 12, 2004
(207028) 2004 VN60	November 10, 2004
(207548) 2006 LZ	June 4, 2006
(207690) 2007 RE19	September 14, 2007
(209635) 2005 BR1	January 17, 2005
(211480) 2003 FC7	March 26, 2003
(211489) 2003 KP	May 22, 2003
(211536) 2003 RR11	September 15, 2003
(211917) 2004 TG8	October 4, 2004
(213727) 2002 VF92	November 13, 2002
(213893) 2003 TN2	October 7, 2003
(213894) 2003 TP2	October 8, 2003
(216242) 2006 VK14	November 15, 2006
(216780) 2006 QP57	August 27, 2006
(217425) 2005 RF	September 1, 2005
(218653) 2005 SB134	September 30, 2005
(220397) 2003 RK10	September 12, 2003
(220578) 2004 JG	May 8, 2004
(220634) 2004 QC25	August 30, 2004
(221019) 2005 PH17	August 13, 2005
(221332) 2005 WB2	November 22, 2005
(221778) 2007 KC	May 16, 2007
(223349) 2003 RP11	September 15, 2003
(223907) 2004 VO60	November 10, 2004
(223908) 2004 VQ60	November 10, 2004
(224067) 2005 NO29	July 8, 2005
(226331) 2003 FL	March 22, 2003
(226810) 2004 RL222	September 14, 2004
(227331) 2005 UW	October 23, 2005
(229368) 2005 RC3	September 5, 2005
(229616) 2006 DK68	February 23, 2006
(230550) 2003 BM	January 21, 2003
(230737) 2003 WX7	November 18, 2003
(231463) 2007 PO	August 5, 2007
(232595) 2003 UP9	October 20, 2003
(232936) 2005 BX2	January 19, 2005
(233332) 2006 CS10	February 8, 2006
(233749) 2008 TF3	October 2, 2008
(238022) 2002 VE5	November 5, 2002
(239313) 2007 RM16	September 13, 2007
(240556) 2004 RQ164	September 8, 2004
(242640) 2005 ND	July 2, 2005
(245486) 2005 PF17	August 13, 2005
(248904) 2006 VE	November 1, 2006
(250711) 2005 RZ33	September 15, 2005
(250907) 2005 WK	November 19, 2005
(253333) 2003 FA7	March 26, 2003
(253383) 2003 KA	May 20, 2003
(253859) 2004 AL	January 11, 2004
(254157) 2004 PT92	August 12, 2004
(255307) 2005 WR	November 20, 2005
(255743) 2006 RV	September 4, 2006
(256128) 2006 VD	November 1, 2006
(256602) 2007 VO1	November 2, 2007
(259615) 2003 VZ2	November 14, 2003
(259680) 2003 XC11	December 13, 2003
(260097) 2004 MX3	June 22, 2004
(260384) 2004 VP60	November 10, 2004
(260835) 2005 QD29	August 29, 2005
(261932) 2006 MU1	June 19, 2006
(261984) 2006 QT23	August 22, 2006
(265031) 2003 OT	July 21, 2003
(265526) 2005 NA	July 1, 2005
(267625) 2002 RD232	September 11, 2002
(267767) 2003 RJ10^[1]	September 3, 2003
(270920) 2002 UT	October 25, 2002
(271110) 2003 RO11	September 15, 2003
(271474) 2004 FG6	March 24, 2004
(273959) 2007 KX1	May 18, 2007
(273995) 2007 OB	July 16, 2007
(274335) 2008 RW22	September 5, 2008
(276361) 2002 VG5	November 5, 2002
(276471) 2003 KL3	May 23, 2003
(277029) 2005 CG7	February 4, 2005
(278734) 2008 SN82	September 23, 2008
(278736) 2008 SX84	September 28, 2008
(281235) 2007 JE36	May 15, 2007
281445 Scotthowe	September 2, 2008
(287374) 2002 VR	November 2, 2002
(287417) 2002 WX2	November 24, 2002
(287577) 2003 FE42	March 31, 2003
(287842) 2003 SX219	September 29, 2003
(288425) 2004 EE	March 11, 2004
(288474) 2004 FE6	March 24, 2004
(288691) 2004 QE	August 16, 2004
(288703) 2004 RE	September 2, 2004
(288957) 2004 TJ9	October 7, 2004
(290002) 2005 PC17	August 12, 2005
(290183) 2005 SZ4	September 25, 2005
(291399) 2006 CD60	February 11, 2006
(293605) 2007 KB	May 16, 2007
(295035) 2008 EU83	March 12, 2008
(295442) 2008 LU16	June 15, 2008
(298635) 2004 BM41	January 23, 2004
(298793) 2004 QE3	August 18, 2004
(299291) 2005 PK17	August 13, 2005
(299453) 2006 BS55	January 22, 2006
(299509) 2006 CJ10	February 7, 2006
(299693) 2006 QZ110	August 30, 2006
(301021) 2008 SJ11	September 23, 2008
(303265) 2004 RH111	September 8, 2004
(303452) 2005 BL14	January 20, 2005
(306209) 2011 QZ18	March 26, 2003
(309524) 2007 XG24	December 15, 2007
(311831) 2006 VS13	November 13, 2006
(313892) 2004 JF	November 13, 2006
(314457) 2005 WL	November 20, 2005
(319134) 2005 YV8	December 20, 2005
(319798) 2006 VJ14	November 15, 2006
(320088) 2007 EX87	March 14, 2007
(323552) 2004 TB	October 2, 2004
(324275) 2006 CH10	February 4, 2006
(327009) 2004 RK84	September 10, 2004
(327421) 2005 WP	November 20, 2005
(327552) 2006 CO10	February 4, 2006
(329740) 2003 YP117	December 17, 2003
(329778) 2004 MA4	June 22, 2004
(329876) 2005 BT2	January 19, 2005
(330226) 2006 JU26	May 7, 2006
(330476) 2007 FH6	August 17, 2004
(330697) 2008 KZ11	May 29, 2008
(335014) 2004 JJ	May 8, 2004
(335028) 2004 PU92	August 11, 2004
(335332) 2005 RD	September 1, 2005
(335466) 2005 WQ	November 20, 2005
(338400) 2003 BK	August 11, 2004
(339384) 2005 BZ1	January 18, 2005
(339385) 2005 BU2	January 19, 2005
(341868) 2008 GU1	April 4, 2008
(343399) 2010 CE170	February 14, 2004
(344595) 2003 CN11	February 5, 2003
(344830) 2004 FE18	March 25, 2004
(346391) 2008 SV84	September 28, 2008
(347901) 2002 VD5	November 4, 2002
(347932) 2003 FW4	March 25, 2003
(348172) 2004 MY7	June 29, 2004
(349766) 2009 AH43	January 7, 2009
(350968) 2003 CH14	February 6, 2003
(351235) 2004 PW92	August 11, 2004
(351677) 2006 AM78	January 11, 2006
(354835) 2005 YB	December 19, 2005
(359771) 2011 UV127	September 1, 2006
(364166) 2006 JB	May 1, 2006
(364819) 2008 CB2	February 2, 2008
(371789) 2007 OE3	July 21, 2007
(372232) 2008 UR91	October 28, 2008
(373986) 2004 AK	January 11, 2004
(374404) 2005 WM	November 20, 2005
(377081) 2002 VA1	November 3, 2002
(378266) 2007 ED10	Marcy 10, 2007
(378370) 2007 ON5	July 24, 2007
(378918) 2008 UQ91	October 28, 2008
(380522) 2004 GK	April 10, 2004
(382979) 2005 BK14	January 20, 2005
(383620) 2007 NG3	July 13, 2007
(386087) 2007 OD3	July 21, 2007
(387730) 2003 FF42	March 31, 2003
(388018) 2005 SA26	September 29, 2005
(391766) 2008 FA	March 19, 2008
(391796) 2008 RH78	September 10, 2008
(400291) 2007 TS69	October 14, 2007
(405301) 2003 UH5	October 18, 2003
(410817) 2009 MN	June 19, 2009
(413647) 2005 VS7	November 12, 2005
(416273) 2003 GS28	April 8, 2003
(416583) 2004 JH	May 8, 2004
(417020) 2005 UX64	October 29, 2005
(417380) 2006 HM57	April 29, 2006
(423163) 2004 FD18	March 25, 2004
(427688) 2004 ET	March 13, 2004
(427928) 2005 VQ1	November 4, 2005
(427939) 2005 WG	November 19, 2005
(428067) 2006 GM3	April 7, 2006
(431625) 2007 WX3	November 18, 2007
(434491) 2005 SZ25	September 29, 2005
^1 with A. Grigsby

James W. Young (aka Jim Young) was born in Portland, Oregon and recently retired as the resident astronomer of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) near Wrightwood, California having been with them for 47 years.

Young was the lead technical guide at the NASA exhibit of the Seattle World's Fair during 1962. It was there he was encouraged to apply for an 'assistant observer' and 'darkroom technician' position at the recently developed Table Mountain Observatory with its new 16-inch (410 mm) telescope which had just begun full operations in late 1962.

Table Mountain Observatory

Along with Charles F. Capen, Jr. (TMO's first resident astronomer), Young carried out photographic synoptic patrols using specific colors (UV through IR) of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Several technical reports were published of 'patrol' images of Mars during two Martian apparitions (1964–65 and 1966–67). The 1964 inferior conjunction of Venus was well observed from TMO. Color astrophotography was carefully investigated for planetary imaging using recently developed high speed color film emulsions.

With the newly (1966) installed 24-inch (610 mm) Cassegrain/Coudé telescope, Young began his asteroid observations with JPL astronomers, Ellis D. Miner and Alan W. Harris. Asteroid rotational rates became his speciality soon thereafter and by 1980, over 30 publications in Icarus with Alan W. Harris resulted in nearly half of the (then) known rotational rates of these small solar system bodies.

With the advent of powerful lasers, Young became involved with several projects that aimed lasers successfully, first at the Surveyor VII spacecraft on the Moon (1968), later as two laser ranging programs developed at JPL in the 1990s found their marks on low and high earth orbiting satellites, and finally to the Galileo spacecraft some 6 million kilometers from Earth. In each case, Young was responsible for aiming/tracking the 24-inch (610 mm) telescope on each successive target.

Hypersensitization

Other noteworthy projects Young was involved in included the 1969 installation of a large planetary spectrograph utilizing the Coudé focus of the 24-inch (610 mm) telescope. Spectroscoptic studies of the planet Venus were carried out by JPL astronomers, Andrew and Louise Young, with Jim Young assisting with hypersensitization of Eastman Kodak IR spectroscoptic glass plates. Jim Young developed a new technique of cold storage for these extremely sensitive plates. His experimentation of 'clean' and properly washed plates, stored at −70 °C. for over two years, were without increased noise or loss of sensitivity. Previous experimenters could manage around a two month reliability.

2-Micron All Sky Survey

In 1998, Young was asked to be an official observer for the 2-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), a joint venture of CalTech (California Institute of Technology) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). Young carried out observations for this project at Mount Hopkins (south of Tucson, Arizona) and at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile until 2000, all the while maintaining his full Table Mountain Observatory responsibilities for JPL.

Near Earth Objects

Late in 2002, Young began his last asteroid research, centering on NEOs and comets that have been discovered by several NASA funded NEO search teams such as NEAT, LINEAR, LONEOS, Catalina Sky Survey (CSS), and Spacewatch. With the use of Astrometrica software, Young become an extremely prolific astrometrist for the Minor Planet Center (MPC) of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The director of the MPC, Dr. Brian G. Marsden called Young the third most accurate and reliable observer in the world then. He also co-authored and authored over 1500 MPECs (Minor Planet Electronic Circulars) and IAUCs (International Astronomical Union Circulars) during these last 7 years at JPL. NASA awarded Young a three-year grant to further his studies of NEOs and comets for JPL and the MPC during the last years before his retirement.

In 2003 Young accepted a new responsibility as 'Astronomy Team Leader' at Table Mountain, and supervised a staff of three employees in maintaining two optical telescopes (0.4 and 0.6 meter cassegrain systems), four CCD cameras, and a computer network of over 20 computers. Young maintained the optical performance of the telescopes, and the vacuum requirements for the CCD cameras. He also was in charge of the telescope scheduling for all visiting astronomers and his staff. TMO recently placed their new on-line webpage for all users as well as the public (see below link).

Outreach

Young taught an astronomy extension course for the University of California, Riverside in 1969 and 1970 specifically for high school and junior college teachers and educators.

Young frequently lectures about his work to youth, school, civic, and church groups around the western USA. In 2006 He attended the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) General Assembly 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. Young gave a presentation on his activities taking astrometric observations of NEOs and comets at Table Mountain Observatory in the S236 Symposium on August 14. Young, and his wife Karen (a HS Science and Math teacher), hold annual star-parties for their local communities as an Outreach Program. The 13th annual event, was held on October 15, 2010. The event was attended by approximately 80 people, with many school children, parents, and Boy Scouts present. With six telescopes, many from members of the High Desert Astronomical Society (HiDAS), participants viewed the moon, and later when the clouds cleared in the east, a shadow transit of Io across Jupiter's cloud surface was seen.

Mr. Young spoke at the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii on December 23, 2010. Young's presentation, entitled "The First Asteroid Discovery to Near-Earth Hazards" featured Scott Manley's visualization titled, '1980-2010 Asteroid Discoveries', a six-minute version (made especially for this presentation, with a re-mix of the music "Transgenic" from Trifonic Music, LLC). Still in Hilo, Mr. Young also gave an evening fireside at the Hilo Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, entitled, "The Creation as Viewed by an Astronomer". This same fireside was given in Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Medina, Ohio in May, 2011.

On the afternoon of June 5, Young held a viewing of the Venus transit from Wrightwood, California for the local community. Mr. Young's 6-inch telescope was used with a solar filter for the 80-100 people who attended, as well as photography to record the event with a 2000mm telephoto lens.

Honors

Minor planet 2874 Jim Young is named in his honor.

Memberships and affiliations

Type	Organization
Full Member	American Astronomical Society (AAS)

Asteroid meanings

Numbered asteroids discovered given permanent names: 25

Asteroid Names
Number	Name	Meaning	Discovered	Notes
78577	JPL	Named for the NASA facility where Young was employed from 1962 to 2009.	September 10, 2002
84882	Table Mountain	Named for Young's actual work place Table Mountain Observatory, near Wrightwood, California.	February 1, 2003
90525	Karijanberg	Named for Young's wife, Karen (1953-) and her parents, Richard (1928–1978) and Janet (1932–1997).	March 17, 2004
95939	Thagnesland	Named for Young’s maternal grandparents, Thaddeus (1866–1921) and Agnes (1877–1961) Vreeland.	May 30, 2003
114239	Bermarmi	Named for Young’s parents, Bernard (1911–1988) and Mary (1912–1996), and well as his brother, Michael (1937-).	November 21, 2002
115312	Whither	Named for Whitney and Heather Young, granddaughters of James Young; two children of son, Jeffrey.	September 19, 2003
115477	Brantanica	Named for Brandon, Brittany and Monica, grandchildren of James Young, and the three children of daughter, Jennifer.	October 19, 2003
115891	Scottmichael	Named for Scott and Michael, grandchildren of James Young, two children of son, Jeffrey.	November 14, 2003
116446	McDermid	Named for Stuart McDermid (1952-), a JPL Science Division senior research scientist responsible for development of the LIDAR facility at Table Mountain Observatory for atmospheric analysis studies.	January 5, 2004
116903	Jeromeapt	Named for Jerome (Jay) Apt (1949-), Former director of JPL's Table Mountain Observatory, retired NASA astronaut who flew 4 missions on the International Space Station, and currently a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.	April 11, 2004
120038	Franlainsher	Named for Young's first wife, Frances (1944-) and her sister, Elaine (1947-) Fisher.	January 26, 2003
120174	Jeffjenny	Named for Young's first children (with Frances), Jeffrey (1966-) and Jennifer (1967-).	May 23, 2003
128297	Ashlevi	Named for Ashlie Philpott and Levi Lemley, grandchildren of James Young, and children of daughter, Eileen.	December 13, 2003
133280	Bryleen	Named for Young's second set of children (with Karen), Bryan (1976-) and Eileen (1979-).	September 18, 2003
133527	Fredearly	Named for Young's paternal grandparents, Frederick (1889–1974) and Pearl Young (1888–1958).	October 5, 2003
142084	Jamesdaniel	Named for James (1951–1978) and Daniel (1957-), the two sons of Bob and Hazel Sealy.	August 26, 2002
144692	Katemary	Named for Young's granddaughter, Katelyn Anne Marie Young, the daughter of Jim's son, Bryan.	April 9, 2004
147397	Bobhazel	Named for Bob (1927–2002) and Hazel (1930-) Sealy, longtime residents of Seaside, Oregon. The Sealy family were, in part, very instrumental in Jim Young's long astronomy career starting from Jim's annual summer vacations in Seaside. Bob Sealy was an amateur astronomer, and started the Seaside Amateur Astronomer's Society, as well as taught astronomy classes at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon. Hazel Sealy was very active in the Miss Oregon Pageant in the 1950s and 60s, and still is an active member of local community affairs. James Sealy tragically lost his life in a boating accident in the ocean waters just outside Seaside on July 8, 1978. Daniel is an amateur astronomer, ham radio operator, and community member while residing in Astoria, Oregon, along with his wife and two children.	March 30, 2003
150035	Williamson	Named for Bruce Williamson (1953-), machinist at the Table Mountain Facility.	November 20, 2005
158899	Malloryvale	Named for Mallory Vale (1986-), a 2004 summer student at Table Mountain Observatory, who will be graduating from Northern Arizona University with a BS degree in astronomy in the Spring of 2009.	August 17, 2004
163626	Glatfelter	Named for Pam Glatfelter (1955-), the operational site manager for the Table Mountain Facility.	October 27, 2002	outer main-belt asteroid
185641	Judd	Named for Michele Judd (1965-), a Senior Engineer of JPL's Science Division who left JPL in 2008 to become the Managing Director of the Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech.	March 5, 2008
198110	Heathrhoades	Named for Heath Rhoades (1972-), the telescope computer network administrator and programmer at Table Mountain Observatory.	September 17, 2004
201777	Deronda	Named for Deronda Mayes (1957-), assistant astronomer at Table Mountain Observatory.	November 24, 2003
221019	Raine	Named for Raine Ann Krecic (2011-), granddaughter of James Young, and child of daughter, Eileen.	August 13, 2005

External links

• TMO website
• Astrophotography site
• Professional Photography Site