David H. Healy
Encyclopedia
David B. Healy was an American astrophotographer
Astrophotography
Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails recording images of astronomical objects and large areas of the night sky. The first photographs of an astronomical object were taken in the 1840s, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for...

 and 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...

 discoverer who is known for his contributions to Burnham's Celestial Handbook.

History

David B. Healy was born 1936 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. He was an automotive industry analyst for Drexel Burnham in New York and later a stock broker before retiring to Arizona. He dedicated his life to Astronomy and the discovery of planets. While in New York, he was a long time member of the Astronomical Society of Long Island. Once in Sierra Vista, Arizona, he became a valued member of the Huachuca Astronomy Club.

He was well known for his pioneering work in astrophotography (in particular with cooled and hypered emulsion astrophotography before silver became silicon) with multiple contributions to leading astronomy publications. Healy established the Junk Bond Observatory
Junk Bond Observatory
The Junk Bond Observatory is located in Sierra Vista, Arizona in the Sonoran Desert.Established in 1996, observer David Healy began by using a Celestron 14 SCT and a 16-inch Meade LX200 telescopes in a roll-off shelter...

 in Arizona for visual work and recoveries of minor planets.

On September 4, 1999 a main-belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

 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...

  was discovered by Myke Collins and Minor White
Minor White
Minor Martin White was an American photographer born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.White earned a degree in botany with a minor in English from the University of Minnesota in 1933. His first creative efforts were in poetry, as he took five years thereafter to complete a sequence of 100 sonnets while...

 at Anza
Anza
Anza may refer to:Anza ,area in agadir city , in Morocco* Anza, California, a town in Riverside County* Anza, Imperial County, California* Anzá, Antioquia, a town in Colombia* Anza , a river in Piedmont, Italy...

. It was called 66479 Healy
66479 Healy
66479 Healy is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 4, 1999 by Myke Collins and Minor White at Anza.- External links :*...

 after founder of the JBO. Healy was also an original contributor to Burnham's Celestial Handbook. The JBO established by Healy operates a 32-inch Ritchey Chretien reflector chiefly for minor planet astrometry
Astrometry
Astrometry is the branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. The information obtained by astrometric measurements provides information on the kinematics and physical origin of our Solar System and our Galaxy, the Milky...

 and is credited with over 500 discoveries. After his chief co-discoverer Jeffrey Medkeff died in 2008, Dave decided to participate in the search for exo-planets. His telescope is still being used in the search for these planetary systems.

He was a Contributing Editor of Astronomy Magazine. Bloomberg Press reviewed Healy's transition from investment analyst to amateur astronomer in the following article http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRvPb7l8jKq4#
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