Michael A'Hearn
Encyclopedia
Michael F. A'Hearn is an astronomer and professor at the University of Maryland
who is the principal investigator for the NASA
EPOXI
mission. He was the principal investigator for the NASA
Deep Impact mission. He received his bachelors in science at Boston College
and his Ph. D in Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. He has aided in the development of systems for surveying abundances in comets as well as techniques for determining the sizes of cometary nuclei which uses optical and infrared measurements.
His studies focus on comets as well as asteroids and he also supervises numerous graduate students. In 1986 for contributions to cometary science and is an elected fellow of the AAAS
. He has authored over 100 papers published in journals and is also an avid sailor who has a commercial coast guard license.
Asteroid 3192 A'Hearn was named after him.
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
who is the principal investigator for the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
EPOXI
EPOXI
EPOXI is a NASA unmanned space mission led by the University of Maryland using the existing Deep Impact vehicle to begin a new series of observations. It first investigated extrasolar planets and, on November 4, 2010, it performed a close approach to the comet 103P/Hartley...
mission. He was the principal investigator for the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Deep Impact mission. He received his bachelors in science at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
and his Ph. D in Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. He has aided in the development of systems for surveying abundances in comets as well as techniques for determining the sizes of cometary nuclei which uses optical and infrared measurements.
His studies focus on comets as well as asteroids and he also supervises numerous graduate students. In 1986 for contributions to cometary science and is an elected fellow of the AAAS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
. He has authored over 100 papers published in journals and is also an avid sailor who has a commercial coast guard license.
Asteroid 3192 A'Hearn was named after him.