Shoemaker, Carolyn (1929–)
Shoemaker, Carolyn (1929–)
American astronomer. Born June 24, 1929, in Gallup, New Mexico; Chico State College in California, BA, MA; Northern Arizona University, PhD, 1990; m. Eugene Shoemaker (1928–1997, geologist and astronomer), Aug 18, 1951; children: 3.
With husband and David Levy, discovered the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet (1993); has discovered over 800 asteroids; holds the world record for number of comets—32—discovered by a living astronomer (as of 2001); became a research professor of astronomy at Northern Arizona University (1989); also serves on the staff of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona; her self-taught skill at scanning telescopic photographs of the night sky is credited with her high number of comet discoveries. Named a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
See also Women in World History.