John J. Kavelaars, better known as JJ Kavelaars, is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 who was part of a team that discovered several moons

Natural satellite

A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....

 of Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...

, Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...

, Uranus

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...

, and Neptune

Neptune

Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...

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Dr. Kavelaars, born in 1966, is a graduate of the Glencoe District High School in Glencoe, Ontario, the University of Guelph

University of Guelph

The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...

, and Queen's University

Queen's University

Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...

, Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

. He is currently an astronomer at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

Dominion Astrophysical Observatory

The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian government. Proposed and designed by John S...

 in Victoria, B.C.

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

In the course of his work, he has been responsible for the discovery of about twenty or so satellites (moons) of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and a hundred or so minor planets. Dr. Kavelaars is the Coordinator of the Canada France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) which is part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope

The Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope is located near the summit of Mauna Kea mountain on Hawaii's Big Island at an altitude of 4,204 meters , and is one of the observatories that comprise the Mauna Kea Observatory...

 Legacy Survey CFHTLS: a project dedicated to the discovery and tracking of objects in the outer solar system.

Dr. Kavelaars is the brother of Canadian actress Ingrid Kavelaars

Ingrid Kavelaars

-Early life:She graduated high school from in London, Ontario Canada.-Career:Ingrid moved to New York City from London, Ontario at the age of 19 to pursue a career as an actress. She has mostly done work on television shows and most notably three episodes in Stargate SG-1 between 2003-2004. In...

 and Canadian fencing athlete Monique Kavelaars

Monique Kavelaars

Monique Kavelaars is a Canadian fencer. She was part of Team Canada's women's epée team who finished fourth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She is the only Canadian woman to ever win an individual match, in Epée Fencing, at an Olympic Event on August 15, 2004. She trains and lives...

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The asteroid 154660 Kavelaars

154660 Kavelaars

154660 Kavelaars is an inner main-belt asteroid discovered on March 29, 2004 by David D. Balam at Mauna Kea Observatory.- External links :*...

 was named in his honour on 1 June 2007 by his colleague David D. Balam

David D. Balam

David D. Balam is a Canadian astronomer and a research associate with University of Victoria's Department of Physics and Astronomy, in Victoria, British Columbia. Specializing in the search for Near-Earth objects, Balam is one of the world's most prolific contributors to this research; only two...

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External links

• Autobiography from 2003
• Homepage at NRC