Asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

s discovered: 8

1600 Vyssotsky 1600 Vyssotsky 1600 Vyssotsky is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 918.2610207 days . The asteroid was discovered on October 22, 1947.-References:...	October 22, 1947
1685 Toro 1685 Toro 1685 Toro is an Apollo asteroid that orbits the Sun in an 8:5 resonance with Earth, and a 13:5 resonance with Venus. Because of this unusual orbit, it is sometimes referenced as "Earth's second satellite"....	July 17, 1948
1747 Wright 1747 Wright 1747 Wright is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on July 14, 1947 by C. A. Wirtanen at Mount Hamilton.- External links :*...	July 14, 1947
1863 Antinous 1863 Antinous 1863 Antinous is an Apollo and Mars crosser asteroid, discovered in 1948 by Carl A. Wirtanen. It was named after Antinous of Greek mythology.In the 20th century Antinous passed within 30 Gm of the Earth five times; it will do so only once in the 21st...	March 7, 1948
1951 Lick 1951 Lick 1951 Lick is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on July 26, 1949 by C. A. Wirtanen at Mount Hamilton.- External links :*...	July 26, 1949
2044 Wirt 2044 Wirt 2044 Wirt is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on November 8, 1950 by C. A. Wirtanen at the Lick Observatory.-Satellite:Photometric observations in 2005 confirmed a 2 km satellite with an orbital period of 18.97 hours.- External links :* * from JPL /...	November 8, 1950
6107 Osterbrock 6107 Osterbrock 6107 Osterbrock is an inner main-belt asteroid discovered on January 14, 1948 by C. A. Wirtanen at Lick Observatory.- External links :*...	January 14, 1948
(29075) 1950 DA (29075) 1950 DA -External links:* from JPL /...	February 22, 1950

Carl Alvar Wirtanen (November 11, 1910, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...

 – March 7, 1990) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 who worked at Lick Observatory

Lick Observatory

The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. It is situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, USA...

.

He discovered periodic comet

Comet

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

 46P/Wirtanen

46P/Wirtanen

46P/Wirtanen is a small short-periodic comet with a current orbital period of 5.4 years. It was the original target for close investigation by the Rosetta spacecraft, planned by the European Space Agency. It belongs to the Jupiter family of comets, all of which have aphelia between 5 and 6 AU. Its...

, as well as eight asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

s, including notably the Apollo asteroid

Apollo asteroid

The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, the first asteroid of this group to be discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth...

 (29075) 1950 DA

(29075) 1950 DA

-External links:* from JPL /...

, which may have a non-negligible probability of impacting the earth in the year 2880. He also discovered two other Apollo asteroids: 1685 Toro

1685 Toro

1685 Toro is an Apollo asteroid that orbits the Sun in an 8:5 resonance with Earth, and a 13:5 resonance with Venus. Because of this unusual orbit, it is sometimes referenced as "Earth's second satellite"....

 and 1863 Antinous

1863 Antinous

1863 Antinous is an Apollo and Mars crosser asteroid, discovered in 1948 by Carl A. Wirtanen. It was named after Antinous of Greek mythology.In the 20th century Antinous passed within 30 Gm of the Earth five times; it will do so only once in the 21st...

. His roots are from Finland.