Matthew J. Holman

Matthew J. Holman

Matthew J. Holman (born 1967) is a Smithsonian astrophysicist and a lecturer at Harvard University. He studied at MIT, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1989. Later, he received his PhD in planetary science in 1994.

In 1998, Holman won the Newcomb Cleveland Prize for his important work in science. From January 2015 to February 2021, he was the interim director of the IAU's Minor Planet Center. He took this role after Timothy B. Spahr stepped down. After Holman, Matthew Payne became the new director of the center.

An asteroid, named 3666 Holman, was given his name in 1999 to honor his contributions. Holman was also a classmate and debate team member with Joe Miller. Joe Miller later ran for the Senate in Alaska.

Discoveries

See also: Category:Discoveries by Matthew J. Holman

Matthew J. Holman discovered and helped find several faraway objects in space between 1999 and 2000. These include special objects called trans-Neptunian objects, like (44594) 1999 OX3 and (60621) 2000 FE8. He also studied objects called centaurs.

Holman was part of a group that found many tiny moons around planets. Some of these moons are around Neptune, like Halimede, Sao, Laomedeia, and Neso. Others are around Uranus, such as Prospero, Setebos, Stephano, Trinculo, Francisco, and Ferdinand. He also helped find a moon named Albiorix around Saturn.