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Michael F. A'Hearn
| Institution: |
University of Maryland |
| Role: |
Principal Investigator |
| Website: |
www.astro.umd.edu/~ma |
| Bio: |
 Prof. A'Hearn, an astronomer at the University of Maryland, has developed and pushed a variety of observational techniques to study the structure and composition of comets. He and his students and collaborators have developed a system for surveying abundances in many comets. They have also developed the techniques for determining sizes of cometary nuclei combining optical and infrared measurements. He has carried out spectroscopy at many wavelengths to study particular molecules in comets. Asteroid 3192 was named after Dr. A'Hearn for his contributions to the field of cometary science. As the Principal Investigator for the Deep Impact mission, Prof. A'Hearn is responsible for the mission's overall success in meeting its science objectives. |
Biographical details contained on these pages were correct during the Deep Impact mission which ended in 2006. Several scientists from Deep Impact are now working on related missions such as EPOXI and Stardust-NExT.
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