Early life

Luu was born in 1963 in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

 to a father who worked as a translator for the U.S. Army. Her father taught her French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 as a child, beginning her lifelong love of languages.

Luu immigrated to the United States

United States

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

 as a refugee in 1975, when the South Vietnamese government fell. She and her family settled in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, where she had relatives. A visit to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...

 inspired her to study astronomy. She attended Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, receiving her bachelor's degree in 1984.

Work as a graduate student and co-discovery of the Kuiper Belt

As a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...

, she worked with David C. Jewitt

David C. Jewitt

David C. Jewitt is a professor of astronomy formerly at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, now at UCLA. He was born in 1958 in England, and is a 1979 graduate of the University of London. Jewitt received an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in astronomy at the California Institute of Technology in...

 to discover the Kuiper Belt

Kuiper belt

The Kuiper belt , sometimes called the Edgeworth–Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending from the orbit of Neptune to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, although it is far larger—20 times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive...

. In 1992, after five years of observation, they found the first known Kuiper Belt object, using the University of Hawaii

University of Hawaii

The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...

's 2.2 meter telescope on Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest...

. This object is (15760) 1992 QB₁

(15760) 1992 QB1

', also written 1992 QB1, was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. It was discovered 1992 by David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. It is now classed as a classical Kuiper belt object, and gave rise to the name cubewano for this...

, which she and Jewitt nicknamed "Smiley". The American Astronomical Society

American Astronomical Society

The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...

 awarded Luu the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy

Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy

The Annie Jump Cannon Award in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society to a woman resident of North America, who is within five years of receipt of a Ph.D., for distinguished contributions to astronomy or for similar contributions in related sciences which have immediate...

 in 1991. In 1992, Luu received a Hubble Fellowship from the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

. The 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...

 5430 Luu

5430 Luu

5430 Luu is a main-belt asteroid discovered on May 12, 1988 by C. S. Shoemaker at Palomar.- External links :*...

 is named in her honor.

Professional life

After receiving her doctorate, Luu worked as a professor at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Luu also served as a professor at Leiden University

Leiden University

Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Following her time in Europe, Luu returned to the United States and works on instrumentation as a technical staff member at Lincoln Laboratory

Lincoln Laboratory

MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and development activities focus on long-term technology development as well as...

 at MIT.

In December 2004, Luu and Jewitt reported the discovery of crystalline water ice on Quaoar

50000 Quaoar

50000 Quaoar is a rocky trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper belt with one known moon. Discovered on June 4, 2002 by astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown at the California Institute of Technology from images acquired at the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory, it is thought by...

, which was at the time the largest known Kuiper Belt object. They also found indications of ammonia hydrate. Their report theorized that the ice likely formed underground, becoming exposed after a collision with another Kuiper Belt object sometime in the last few million years.

Asteroids co-discovered by Luu

Luu has co-discovered a number of asteroids:

• 10370 Hylonome
  10370 Hylonome
  10370 Hylonome is a Small Solar System Body orbiting in the outer Solar System. It belongs to the class of icy objects that are known as centaurs, with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Neptune and grazes that of Uranus...
  
  
• (15760) 1992 QB₁
  (15760) 1992 QB1
  ', also written 1992 QB1, was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. It was discovered 1992 by David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii. It is now classed as a classical Kuiper belt object, and gave rise to the name cubewano for this...
  
  
• (15809) 1994 JS
  (15809) 1994 JS
  1994 JS is a trans-Neptunian object that resides in the Kuiper belt beyond Pluto. It is in a 3:5 orbital resonance with Neptune.-References:...
  
  
• (15836) 1995 DA₂
  (15836) 1995 DA2
  ', also written as 1995 DA2, is a trans-Neptunian object. It was discovered on February 24, 1995 by David C. Jewitt and Jane X. Luu at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii.-Resonance:...
  
  
• (15874) 1996 TL₆₆
  (15874) 1996 TL66
  ' is a trans-Neptunian object that resides in the scattered disc. The Spitzer Space Telescope has estimated this object to be about 575 km in diameter, which makes it a dwarf-planet candidate. It is not a detached object since its perihelion is under the influence of Neptune...
  
  
• (15875) 1996 TP₆₆
  (15875) 1996 TP66
  ', also written as 1996 TP66, is a resonant trans-Neptunian object in 2:3 resonance with Neptune, like Pluto . It was discovered on October 11, 1996 by Chad Trujillo, David C. Jewitt, and Jane X. Luu at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii....
  
  
• (19308) 1996 TO₆₆
  (19308) 1996 TO66
  ' is a trans-Neptunian object. It was discovered in 1996 by Chadwick A. Trujillo, David C. Jewitt and Jane X...
  
  
• (20161) 1996 TR₆₆
  (20161) 1996 TR66
  ', also written as 1996 TR66, is a Trans-Neptunian object orbiting beyond Pluto in the Kuiper belt. It was discovered on October 8, 1996 by David C. Jewitt, Chad Trujillo, Jane X...
  
  
• (24952) 1997 QJ₄
  (24952) 1997 QJ4
  1997 QJf, also written as 1997 QJ4 is a plutino, so it has a 2:3 resonance with Neptune, similar to Pluto. It has a perihelion at 30.463 AU and an aphelion at 48.038 AU, so it is in a relatively eccentric orbit. It has a diameter of 139 km, so it is unlikely to be classified as a dwarf planet...
  
  
• (24978) 1998 HJ₁₅₁
  (24978) 1998 HJ151
  ', also written as 1998 HJ151, is a cubewano. It has a perihelion at 41.339 AU and an aphelion at 45.889 AU. It has a diameter of about 139 km. It was discovered on April 28, 1998 by Jane X. Luu, Chadwick A. Trujillo, David J. Tholen and David C. Jewitt.-References:...
  
  
• (26375) 1999 DE₉
  (26375) 1999 DE9
  ' is a trans-Neptunian object. Light-curve-amplitude analysis shows only small deviations, suggesting is a spheroid with small albedo spots and hence a dwarf planet. It was discovered in 1999 by Chad Trujillo and Jane X. Luu.It is classified as a resonant as its 417-year orbit is in 2:5 resonance...
  
  
• (33001) 1997 CU₂₉
  (33001) 1997 CU29
  ', also written as 1997 CU29 is a cubewano. It has a perihelion at 41.660 AU and an aphelion of 45.134 AU. is about 211 km in diameter. It was discovered on February 6, 1997 by David C. Jewitt, Jane X. Luu, Chad Trujillo, and Jun Chen at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii.-References:...
  
  
• (58534) 1997 CQ₂₉
• (59358) 1999 CL₁₅₈
  (59358) 1999 CL158
  ', also written as 1999 CL158, is a trans-Neptunian object that resides in the Kuiper belt. It was discovered on February 11, 1999, by Jane X. Luu, Chad Trujillo, and David C...
  
  
• (60608) 2000 EE₁₇₃
• 66652 Borasisi
  66652 Borasisi
  66652 Borasisi , provisionally known as , is a trans-Neptunian object discovered in 1999 by A. Trujillo, J. Luu and D. Jewitt and identified as binary in 2003 by K...
  
  
• (79360) 1997 CS₂₉
  (79360) 1997 CS29
  , also written as 1997 CS29, is a double cubewano. It was discovered on February 3, 1997 by Jane X. Luu, David C. Jewitt, Chad Trujillo, and Jun Chen at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii.-Orbit:...
  
  
• (79969) 1999 CP₁₃₃
  (79969) 1999 CP133
  ', also written as 1999 CP133, is a trans-Neptunian object. It was discovered on February 11, 1999 by Chad Trujillo, Jane X. Luu, and David C. Jewitt at the Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii.It is in a 4:5 orbital resonance with the planet Neptune....
  
  
• (79978) 1999 CC₁₅₈
  (79978) 1999 CC158
  ', also written as 1999 CC158, is a trans-Neptunian object that resides in the Kuiper belt region of the Solar System. It was discovered on February 15, 1999 at the Mauna Kea Observatory, HawaiiIt has a 12:5 resonance with Neptune.-References:...
  
  
• (79983) 1999 DF₉
  (79983) 1999 DF9
  ', also written as 1999 DF9, is a cubewano. It travels in a highly eccentric orbit which has a perihelion at 39.797 AU and an aphelion at 53.264 AU. It is about 265 km in diameter. It was discovered on February 20, 1999 by Jane X. Luu, Chadwick A. Trujillo and David C...
  
  

Personal life

Luu enjoys traveling, and has worked for Save the Children

Save the Children

Save the Children is an internationally active non-governmental organization that enforces children's rights, provides relief and helps support children in developing countries...

 in Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

. She enjoys a variety of outdoor activities and plays the cello. She met her husband, Ronnie Hoogerwerf, who is also an astronomer, while in Leiden.

External links

• Crystalline Ice on Kuiper Belt Object (50000) Quaoar (article co-written with David Jewitt, published in the December 9, 2004 issue of Nature)
• The Shape Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects (paper co-written with Pedro Lacerda, June 2003)
• http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&sim_query=YES&ned_query=YES&lpi_query=YES&iau_query=YES&aut_xct=NO&aut_logic=OR&obj_logic=OR&author=Luu%2C+J&object=&start_mon=&start_year=&end_mon=&end_year=&ttl_logic=OR&title=&txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=100&start_nr=1&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&min_score=&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=&data_and=ALL&group_and=ALL&sort=SCORE&aut_syn=YES&ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&obj_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1NASA Astrophysics Data System publication listing]
• Comet Impact on McMaster (presentation summary, November 2001)
• Accretion in the Early Kuiper Belt I. Coagulation and Velocity Evolution (paper co-written with Scott J. Kenyon, published in May 1998 Astronomical Journal)
• Optical and Infrared Reflectance Spectrum of Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TL66 (paper co-written with D.C. Jewitt, January 1998)