Eleanor F. Helin
Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources give her name as Eleanor Kay Helin.)
Eleanor F. Helin | |
|---|---|
Eleanor Helin holds the announcement for discovery of 2100 Ra-Shalom, 1979 | |
| Born | Eleanor Frances Helin 19 November 1932 |
| Died | 25 January 2009 (aged 76) |
| Alma mater | Occidental College |
| Known for | discoverer of minor planets |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | Caltech · JPL |
| Notable students | Celina Mikolajczak |
| see § List of discovered minor planets |
Helin was a prolific discoverer of minor planets (see list) and several comets, including periodic comets 111P/Helin–Roman–Crockett, 117P/Helin–Roman–Alu and 132P/Helin–Roman–Alu. She is credited as the discoverer of the object now known as both asteroid 4015 Wilson–Harrington and comet 107P/Wilson–Harrington. Although Wilson and Harrington preceded her by some decades, their observations did not establish an orbit for the object, while her rediscovery did. Helin discovered or co-discovered 903 asteroids and several comets.