C. Michelle Olmstead facts for kids

C. Michelle Olmstead, born on May 21, 1969, is an American scientist who studies space, especially asteroids. She is also a computer scientist. She has discovered many asteroids and even helped find a comet!

Early Life and Learning

Michelle Olmstead went to Northern Arizona University to study physics and astronomy from 1989 to 1993. While she was there, she was a special student supported by NASA. She worked on projects to measure the positions and movements of asteroids, using information from older sky surveys.

Discoveries in Space

The Minor Planet Center, which keeps track of small objects in space, says that Michelle Olmstead discovered 46 asteroids between 1977 and 1990. That's a lot of space rocks!

In 1990, she worked with another astronomer, Henry E. Holt, to discover a periodic comet called 127P/Holt-Olmstead. A periodic comet is one that travels around the Sun and returns to our view regularly. This comet was named after both of them.

An asteroid called 3287 Olmstead was named in her honor. This asteroid was found by astronomer Schelte J. Bus in 1981. It's a special type of asteroid called a Mars-crosser, which means its path around the Sun crosses the orbit of Mars.

One of the asteroids she discovered, (5633) 1978 UL₇, was officially found at Palomar Observatory in 1978. It was likely seen on special photos taken by Tom Gehrels.

Asteroids Discovered

Here is a list of the minor planets C. Michelle Olmstead discovered:

See also

In Spanish: C. Michelle Olmstead para niños