Jessica Mink facts for kids

Jessica Mink is an American scientist who works with computers and studies stars and planets. She is also a data archivist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She was an important part of the team that found the rings around the planet Uranus.

Early Life and Discoveries

Jessica Mink was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1951. She finished high school in 1969. She then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, she earned two degrees in Planetary Science in 1973 and 1974.

After MIT, Jessica Mink worked at Cornell University from 1976 to 1979. She was a software developer for astronomy projects. During this time, she joined a team that made an amazing discovery: the rings around Uranus. Her job was to create the computer programs that helped analyze the data.

Later, she moved back to MIT with her research group. There, her work also helped in finding the rings of Neptune. Jessica Mink has created many useful computer programs for studying space. Two of her most well-known programs are WCSTools and RVSAO. These tools help astronomers all over the world.

She is a member of important groups like the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union. These groups bring together scientists who study space.

Hobbies and Community Work

Jessica Mink loves riding bicycles and works to make cycling better for everyone. She has been a leader and director for the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. This group helps promote safe cycling.

Since 1991, she has also planned the bicycle route for the Massachusetts part of the East Coast Greenway. This is a long path for walking and biking that goes along the eastern coast of the United States.

Jessica Mink lives in Boston, Massachusetts (USA). She has an adult daughter.

See also

In Spanish: Jessica Mink para niños