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Carl Alvar Wirtanen (November 11, 1910 – March 7, 1990) was an American astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets who worked at Lick Observatory. He was of Finnish ancestry.

Wirtanen was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. After visiting the observatory in Kenosha with his violin teacher at age 12, he started grinding mirrors. Wirtanen joined the staff at Lick Observatory in 1941. During the Second World War, he took a job as a physicist at the California Institute of Technology and worked on ballistics at the Naval Ordnance Test Station in the Mojave Desert. He returned to Lick Observatory after the war, remaining there until his retirement in 1978.

Wirtanen discovered periodic comet 46P/Wirtanen, as well as eight asteroids, including notably the Apollo asteroid (29075) 1950 DA, which may have a non-negligible probability of impacting the Earth in the year 2880. He also discovered two other Apollo asteroids: 1685 Toro and 1863 Antinous. Based on the Shane–Wirtanen survey, the Shane Wirtanen Catalogue, a count of galaxies, was his major work published in 1954.

The asteroid 2044 Wirt, discovered by himself at Lick Observatory in 1950, was named in his honor in on 1 January 1981 (M.P.C. 5688). The name was proposed by his colleague Arnold Klemola.

Wirtanen died in Santa Cruz, California in 1990 following a lengthy illness. His remains were scattered at sea.

References

1. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
2. Klemola, Arnold Richard (September 1991). "Obituary: Carl Alvar Wirtanen, 1910-1990". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 23 (4): 1495–1496. Bibcode:1991BAAS...23.1495K. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
3. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2044) Wirt". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2044) Wirt. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 166. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2045. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
4. ^ "Carl A. Wirtanen". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz, CA. March 11, 1990. p. 21. Retrieved February 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "California Astronomer Discovers New Comet". Tampa Bay Times. St. Petersburg, FL. August 22, 1948. p. 21. Retrieved February 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Brown, Michael E.; Groth, Edward J. (March 1989). "The Shane Wirtanen counts – Observability of the galaxy correlation function" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal. 338: 605–617. Bibcode:1989ApJ...338..605B. doi:10.1086/167222.
7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 12 July 2016.

• 1910 births
• 1990 deaths
• 20th-century American astronomers
• American people of Finnish descent
• Discoverers of asteroids
• Discoverers of comets
• Discoveries by Carl A. Wirtanen
• Lick Observatory
• People from Kenosha, Wisconsin