Name Clifford Cunningham | Role Astronomer | |
 | ||
Books Introduction to asteroids | ||
Clifford J. Cunningham is a Canadian-born professional astronomer and author of numerous books on asteroids.
Contents
Biography
He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo in 1976; upon enrollment, at age 15, he was the youngest student ever to attend UW. In 1991 he earned his BA in Classical Studies. For his book Introduction to Asteroids (1988) and development of The Minor Planet Index to Scientific Papers (currently on the small bodies node of the Planetary Data System managed by NASA), an asteroid was named in his honour. Asteroid 4276 was named Clifford. He is a contributing editor to Mercury magazine (since 2001), and a contributor to The Astronomical Calendar (1988-2013). In 2013 he became affiliated with NARIT, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand. In 2016 he was appointed associate editor of the Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, and in 2014 a contributor to Encyclopædia Britannica. He earned his PhD in the history of astronomy at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia in 2015.
After years of research, Dr. Cunningham finally discovered who actually coined the word 'asteroid'. Although 'asteroid' has been attributed to the famous astronomer William Herschel, Cunningham found evidence that it was actually proposed by Greek expert Charles Burney, Jr., the son of a friend of Herschel. In 2014 he discovered a previously unrecognised allusion to the aurora borealis in Milton's Paradise Lost.
Awards and honors
In 1990, the Mars-crossing asteroid 4276 Clifford, discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell in 1981, was named in his honor (M.P.C. 16248).