Claudine Rinner facts for kids

Claudine Rinner (born 1965) is a French amateur astronomer. An amateur astronomer is someone who studies space and stars as a hobby, not as their main job. Claudine is known for finding many minor planets and comets. She even won a special award for her amazing discoveries! She observes the night sky from the Ottmarsheim Observatory in France.

Claudine Rinner's Astronomy Career

Claudine Rinner has made some really cool discoveries in space. She was part of a project called the Morocco Oukaimeden Sky Survey (MOSS). This project uses a special robot telescope in Morocco to look for new objects in space.

Discovering Comets

Using this robotic telescope, Claudine found three comets! Comets are like giant space snowballs made of ice and dust. When they get close to the Sun, they warm up and create a glowing tail. For finding these comets, Claudine won the 2013 Edgar Wilson Award. This award is given to amateur astronomers who discover new comets. The comets she found are named 373P/Rinner, C/2012 CH₁₇ (MOSS), and 281P/MOSS.

Finding Minor Planets

Besides comets, Claudine has also found more than 100 minor planets! Minor planets are small rocky objects that orbit the Sun, but they are not big enough to be called planets. The Minor Planet Center is an official group that keeps track of all these discoveries. Some of her minor planet discoveries were made with another astronomer named François Kugel.

Awards and Special Honors

Claudine Rinner has been recognized for her important work in astronomy.

An Asteroid Named After Her

Imagine having a space rock named after you! An asteroid, which is a type of minor planet, was named 23999 Rinner in her honor. Another French amateur astronomer, Laurent Bernasconi, discovered this asteroid in 1999. Naming an asteroid after someone is a very special way to celebrate their contributions to science.

Other Recognitions

In 2020, Claudine Rinner and another astronomer, Michel Ory, received the Dorothea Klumpke – Isaac Roberts prize. This award comes from the Société astronomique de France, which is a big astronomy society in France. It celebrates people who have done great things in astronomy.

Discoveries

Claudine Rinner has discovered many minor planets. Here are a few examples of the minor planets she found. Some of these were found with François Kugel.

• 90533 Laurentblind
• 120375 Kugel
• 128627 Ottmarsheim
• 133892 Benkhaldoun
• 145566 Andreasphilipp
• 152320 Lichtenknecker
• (152472) 2005 WZ₃
• 157541 Wachter
• 158913 Kreider
• 164587 Taesch
• (168127) 2006 GC₃
• (175402) 2006 OL₁₀
• 178014 Meslay
• 184318 Fosanelli
• (185309) 2006 UN₂₉₁
• 196945 Guerin
• (197872) 2004 RK₈
• (198897) 2005 UZ₇
• (198973) 2005 VO₃
• (198974) 2005 VN₄
• (199633) 2006 GF₃
• 200020 Cadi Ayyad
• 214485 Dupouy
• (221175) 2005 UR₇
• (227337) 2005 UH₈
• (227749) 2006 HG₅₈
• (229441) 2005 UJ₈
• (229504) 2005 WA₄
• (236492) 2006 GG₃
• (245552) 2005 UF₈
• (255072) 2005 UP₈
• (261214) 2005 UO₇
• (262587) 2006 VD₉₅
• (277936) 2006 OO
• (280813) 2005 UQ₇
• (280879) 2005 WB₄
• (281069) 2006 OO₁₀
• (290773) 2005 VL₃
• (290774) 2005 VM₄
• (295790) 2008 UP₂₅₅
• (308507) 2005 US₇
• (309208) 2007 HZ₁₄
• (311402) 2005 UU₇
• (318903) 2005 UQ₈
• 340579 Losse
• (354758) 2005 UB₈
• 355022 Triman
• 355029 Herve
• (358482) 2007 RL
• (360008) 2012 YR
• (363952) 2005 UE₈
• (367066) 2006 OP₁₀
• (371386) 2006 RE
• (371568) 2006 VC₉₅
• (376516) 2012 LH₈
• (391057) 2005 UW₇
• (397027) 2005 UM₈
• (417130) 2005 VO₄
• (440793) 2006 OK₁₀
• (475017) 2005 UC₈
• (475781) 2006 XU₁

See also

In Spanish: Claudine Rinner para niños

• List of minor planet discoverers § C. Rinner