Frederick Pilcher (born 1939) is a retired physics professor and a prolific
photometrist of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s at his private Organ Mesa Observatory in New Mexico, United States.
Biography
A graduate of
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
, Frederick Pilcher has been a long-time associate professor in the physics department at
Illinois College
Illinois College is a private liberal arts college in Jacksonville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church (USA). It was the second college founded in Illinois but the first to grant a degree (in ...
in
Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville is a city and the county seat of Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,616 at the 2020 census, down from 19,446 in 2010. It is home to Illinois College, Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois Sc ...
, during 1962–2005.
Since 1968 he has been observing and writing about asteroids and was a charter member of the ''Minor Planets Section'' of the
Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers
The Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO or A.L.P.O.) is an international scientific and educational organization established in March 1947 in the United States by Walter H. Haas, and later incorporated in 1990. ALPO is an organizat ...
(ALPO) when founded in 1973. Later on, he assumed the post of Section Recorder and Coordinator at ALPO.
After his retirement he moved to New Mexico, United States, and established his Organ Mesa Observatory in 2007. The observatory is located approximately 5 miles southeast of
Las Cruces, New Mexico, and is dedicated to
photometric research on asteroids. At the observatory, he has since obtained more than 1100 rotational
lightcurve
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph of the Radiance, light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude (astronomy), magnitude of light received on the ''y''-axis ...
s.
Pilcher is a member of the ''Astronomical Society of Las Cruces'', which is known for its research on small Solar System body, and its prolific members such as
Clyde Tombaugh
Clyde William Tombaugh (; February 4, 1906 – January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer best known for discovering Pluto, the first object to be identified in what would later be recognized as the Kuiper belt, in 1930.
Raised on farms in ...
and
Berton L. Stevens, who discovered more than 50
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s at his Desert Moon Observatory in La Cruces.
Honors
The main-belt asteroid
1990 Pilcher, discovered by
Karl Reinmuth
Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth (4 April 1892 in Heidelberg – 6 May 1979 in Heidelberg) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of 395 minor planets.
Scientific career
From 1912 to 1957, Reinmuth was working as an astronomer at the He ...
in 1954, was named in his honor.
The official naming citation was published by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
on 8 April 1982 ().
See also
*
2807 Karl Marx, naming controversy
References
External links
Pilcher and the Asteroid Karl Marx– ''Asteroids: A History'', Curtis Peebles,
Lightcurve plot of 8 Flora by Frederick Pilcher
''Astronomical Society of Las Cruces''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilcher, Frederick
Year of birth unknown
20th-century American astronomers
21st-century American astronomers
Living people
1939 births