Jaume Nomen Torres (also: Jaime Nomen; born June 23, 1960 in

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the h ...

, Catalonia) is a Spanish oral and maxillofacial surgeon, amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

and discoverer of numerous

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 '' ...

s. He is of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

origin and became publicly known for the discovery of the near-Earth asteroid (later named 367943 Duende) by the OAM team (of which he is a member) during the La Sagra Sky Survey. The asteroid 56561 Jaimenomen is named after him. Nomen is a prolific discoverer of

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...

s, professor in the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

and an active member of GEA, (Grup d'Estudis Astronòmics, Barcelona). He has discovered more than sixty

s of which 55 have been numbered. He is the director of the

Unicorn Project The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

3SSS, that places three automatic

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

s of 61 cm diameter in the

Piera Observatory Piera Observatory ( ca, Observatori Astronòmic de Piera) is an astronomical observatory located in Piera, Catalonia, with the IAU observatory code 165. It takes part in the Unicorn Project with the Ametlla de Mar Observatory and Costitx Observa ...

, l'

Ametlla de Mar Observatory Ametlla de Mar Observatory is an astronomical observatory situated in L'Ametlla de Mar in the autonomous Catalonia region of Spain. It has received the IAU observatory code 946 and is operated by Catalan astronomer Jaume Nomen. The observatory pa ...

and

Costitx Observatory Costitx is a small municipality on Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain. The Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca The Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca ( es, Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, OAM) is an observatory just south ...

to increase the capacity of detection and study of the asteroids.

References

External links

Asteroid 2102 DA14 Has Date With Earth Friday
ABCnews, 15 February 2013 * 1960 births Astronomers from Catalonia Discoverers of asteroids Living people 20th-century Spanish astronomers 21st-century Spanish astronomers {{Europe-astronomer-stub