Chadwick A. Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is an American astronomer, discoverer of minor planets such as being the co-discoverer of Makemake, and the co-discoverer of Eris, the most massive dwarf planet known in the Solar System.

Trujillo works with computer software and has examined the orbits of the numerous trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which is the outer area of the Solar System that he specialized in. Trujillo, along with Michael Brown and David Rabinowitz, discovered Eris in 2003. As a result of the discovery of the satellite Dysnomia, Eris was the first TNO known to be more massive than Pluto.

Career Trujillo attended Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois. He received his B.Sc. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995, and was a member of the Xi chapter of Tau Epsilon Phi, and received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaiʻi in 2000.

Between 2000 and 2003 Trujillo was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech. In 2003, he started working as an astronomer at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.

In 2013 Trujillo became head of the Adaptive Optics/Telescope Department at the Gemini Observatory, and continued until 2016. As of 2016, Trujillo is assistant professor at the department of Astronomy and Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University.

He studies the Kuiper belt and the outer Solar System.

Discoveries + Minor planets discovered: 88 see

, Trujillo is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery and co-discovery of 88 numbered minor planets between 1996 and 2017, including many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the Kuiper belt (see table). The last major TNO, Eris, was at first considered by him, his team, NASA, and many others to be the tenth planet, but the International Astronomical Union assigned it to the new classificatory category of dwarf planet.

The possible dwarf planets Trujillo discovered are: Quaoar, co-discovered with Brown Sedna, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz, possibly the first known inner Oort cloud object Orcus, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz Eris, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz – the only known TNO more massive than Pluto , discovery also claimed by the Sierra Nevada Observatory, Spain (also see José Luis Ortiz Moreno). , co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz in 2005, one of the first 5 official dwarf planets.

List of discovered minor planets

Minor Planet Center credits Chad Trujillo with the discovery and co-discovery of 88 minor planets during 1996–2017.

October 9, 1996 October 11, 1996 February 3, 1997 October 12, 1996 October 8, 1996 August 28, 1997 April 28, 1998 February 20, 1999 February 6, 1997 50000 Quaoar June 4, 2002 February 11, 1999 March 3, 2000 65489 Ceto March 22, 2003 66652 Borasisi September 8, 1999 79360 Sila-Nunam February 3, 1997 February 11, 1999 February 15, 1999 February 20, 1999 November 3, 2002 90377 Sedna November 14, 2003 90482 Orcus February 17, 2004 September 8, 1999 October 8, 1996 May 17, 2002 July 26, 2003 October 3, 2004 December 18, 2001 December 20, 2001 February 10, 1999 September 7, 1999 136199 Eris October 21, 2003 136472 Makemake March 31, 2005 September 7, 1999 September 8, 1999 September 8, 1999 April 2, 2000 August 7, 2004 February 10, 1999 February 11, 1999 February 12, 1999 September 6, 1999 208996 Achlys January 13, 2003 May 19, 2002 May 17, 2002 307261 Mani June 18, 2002 341520 Mors-Somnus October 14, 2007 September 7, 1999 385571 Otrera October 16, 2004 385695 Clete October 8, 2005 September 7, 1999 February 10, 1999 471143 Dziewanna March 13, 2010 May 7, 2002 March 17, 2013 March 28, 2014 March 27, 2014 April 28, 1998 March 31, 2000 August 26, 2002 October 19, 2003 March 16, 2013 March 16, 2013 March 24, 2014 February 6, 1997 September 6, 1999 532037 Chiminigagua March 17, 2013 March 17, 2013 March 17, 2015 541132 Leleakuhonua October 13, 2015 April 13, 2015 May 8, 2013 October 12, 1996 February 2, 1997 April 28, 1998 February 11, 1999 February 11, 1999 February 11, 1999 February 12, 1999 March 31, 2000 October 8, 2005 December 11, 2012 March 28, 2014 July 26, 2017 March 16, 2013 March 16, 2013 September 21, 2014 June 27, 2009 March 16, 2013

Satellites and uncredited discoveries Object Discovery date Type Credit went to.. Haumea December 28, 2004 DP 55565 Aya January 10, 2002 TNO The Palomar Observatory team with Michael Brown November 5, 2012 TNO no official discoverers for unnumbered objects; candidate: S. S. Sheppard (136108) Haumea I Hiʻiaka January 26, 2005 Satellite Michael Brown and the adaptive-optics team, D. L. Rabinowitz (136108) Haumea II Namaka July 30, 2005 Satellite Michael Brown and the adaptive-optics team (136199) Eris I Dysnomia September 10, 2005 Satellite Michael Brown and the adaptive-optics team: M. A. van Dam, A. H. Bouchez, D. Le Mignant, R. D. Campbell, J. C. Y. Chin, A. Conrad, S. K. Hartman, E. M. Johansson, R. E. Lafon, D. L. Rabinowitz, P. J. Stomski Jr., D. M. Summers, and P. L. Wizinowich

Honors and awards The main-belt asteroid 12101 Trujillo is named for him.

In 2006 he was named one of the Science Spectrum Magazine Trailblazer, top minority in science.

References

External links