Richard Martin West
| Asteroids discovered: 39 | |
|---|---|
| 2052 Tamriko | October 24, 1976 |
| 2053 Nuki | October 24, 1976 |
| 2115 Irakli | October 24, 1976 |
| 2116 Mtskheta | October 24, 1976 |
| 2117 Danmark | January 9, 1978 |
| 2145 Blaauw | October 24, 1976 |
| 2146 Stentor | October 24, 1976 |
| 2147 Kharadze | October 25, 1976 |
| 2148 Epeios | October 24, 1976 |
| 2187 La Silla | October 24, 1976 |
| 2526 Alisary | May 19, 1979 |
| 2595 Gudiachvili | May 19, 1979 |
| 2596 Vainu Bappu | May 19, 1979 |
| 2935 Naerum | October 24, 1976 |
| 3004 Knud | February 27, 1976 |
| 3477 Kazbegi | May 19, 1979 |
| 3871 Reiz | February 18, 1982 |
| 3933 Portugal | March 12, 1986 |
| 5270 Kakabadze | May 19, 1979 |
| 5890 Carlsberg | May 19, 1979 |
| 6362 Tunis | May 19, 1979 |
| 8066 Poldimeri | August 6, 1980 |
| 8993 Ingstad | October 30, 1980 |
| 9272 Liseleje | May 19, 1979 |
| (10462) 1979 KM | May 19, 1979 |
| (10668) 1976 UB1 | October 24, 1976 |
| 11005 Waldtrudering | August 6, 1980 |
| (12188) 1978 PE | August 9, 1978 |
| (12198) 1980 PJ1 | August 6, 1980 |
| (14350) 1985 VA1 | November 1, 1985 |
| (15201) 1976 UY | October 31, 1976 |
| (15207) 1979 KD | May 19, 1979 |
| (20995) 1985 VY | November 1, 1985 |
| (22252) 1978 SG | September 27, 1978 |
| (26081) 1980 PT1 | August 6, 1980 |
| (27667) 1979 KJ | May 19, 1979 |
| (34998) 1978 SE | September 27, 1978 |
| (65661) 1985 VB1 | November 1, 1985 |
| 79086 Gorgasali | September 4, 1977 |
Richard Martin West (born 1941) is a Danish astronomer with a long career at the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
He discovered numerous comets, including Comet West (C/1975 V1), which was one of the brightest comets of the 1970s,[1] and the periodic comets 76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura and 123P/West–Hartley.
He also discovered a number of asteroids, including the Trojan asteroids 2146 Stentor, 2148 Epeios and (20995) 1985 VY.
He co-discovered (with Hans-Emil Schuster) the Phoenix Dwarf galaxy.
Career at ESO
Richard West began working at ESO in 1970, when he joined as Assistant Astronomer to the ESO Director General, Adriaan Blaauw. His career took a leap in 1972, when he charged one of the first and largest scientific programmes of ESO: the Sky Atlas Laboratory project to systematically map the southern hemisphere.[2]
West was a leading figure in helping out and establishing serious collaborations with the scientific communities of the Central and Eastern European countries in the wake of the political, social and economical turmoil following the collapse and dismantling of the Soviet block in the early 1990s.[2][3]
West retired in 2005, after a continuous employment at ESO.[2]
Positions
Richard West focussed a lot of his worklife on the organizational matters of the international scientific community in addition to science communications in general. He held a number of influential positions:[2]
- Assistant General Secretary of the IAU in 1979–1982.
- General Secretary of the IAU (1982–1985).
- Presided over a number of IAU Commissions.
- Member of the Executive Committee of ICSU.
Awards
- Rosenkjaer Prize. A prestigious award in Denmark, given for outstanding science or culture communication.
References
- ↑ "New Scientist - Google Books". Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
- 1 2 3 4 "Richard West Retires" (PDF). The Messenger. ESO. June 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ↑ "Strange New Star Appears in the Southern Sky". ESO. 17 January 1991. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
External links
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