Nikolai Chernykh facts for kids

Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (born October 6, 1931 – died May 25, 2004) was a famous astronomer from the Soviet Union. He was born in Russia and spent his career discovering many minor planets (like asteroids) and comets. He worked at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyi, Crimea.

About Nikolai Chernykh

Nikolai Chernykh was born in a Russian city called Usman. He was very interested in space and specialized in studying how small objects move in our Solar System. This field is called astrometry. It's like tracking the paths of space rocks! He started working at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in 1963.

Nikolai Chernykh discovered two special comets that visit us regularly. These are called 74P/Smirnova–Chernykh and 101P/Chernykh. He also found a huge number of asteroids. Some of his most famous discoveries include 2867 Šteins and a special type of asteroid called a Trojan asteroid named 2207 Antenor. Trojan asteroids share an orbit with a planet, staying in stable spots.

Nikolai worked closely with his wife, Lyudmila Chernykh, who was also an astronomer. To honor their work, another astronomer named Antonín Mrkos discovered an asteroid in 1979 and named it 2325 Chernykh after them.

Asteroids Discovered by Nikolai Chernykh

Nikolai Chernykh discovered many asteroids. Here is a list of some of them:

See also

• List of minor planets