Lyudmila Karachkina facts for kids

Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina (born September 3, 1948) is a famous astronomer from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. She is well-known for discovering many minor planets. Minor planets are small objects in space that orbit the Sun, like asteroids.

Lyudmila Karachkina started working as an astronomer in 1978 at the Institute for Theoretical Astronomy in Leningrad. Later, she did her research at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Her work there focused on studying minor planets. She used special techniques called astrometry (measuring the exact positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies) and photometry (measuring the brightness of celestial objects).

She has discovered 130 minor planets! Some of her important discoveries include 5324 Lyapunov, which is an Amor asteroid (an asteroid that crosses Earth's orbit), and 3063 Makhaon, which is a Trojan asteroid (an asteroid that shares an orbit with a larger planet, like Jupiter). In 2004, she earned her Ph.D. in astronomy from Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University.

Lyudmila Karachkina has two daughters, Maria and Renata. To honor her amazing work, a minor planet was named after her: 8019 Karachkina. It was discovered by German astronomers in 1990. Another minor planet, 8089 Yukar, was named after her husband, Yurij Vasil'evicht Karachkin, who was a physics teacher.

List of discovered minor planets

Lyudmila Karachkina has discovered many minor planets. Here is a list of some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Liudmila Karachkina para niños

• Tamara Smirnova, another astronomer who worked at ITA