Michael (Mike) E. Brown (born c. 1965) has been a professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2003. He was previously an associate professor at Caltech from 2002-2003 and an assistant professor at Caltech from 1997–2002^[1]. Look up Circa on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The Latin word circa, literally meaning about, is often used to describe various dates (often birth and death dates) that are uncertain. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech)[1] is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Education

Brown earned his B.A. in physics from Princeton University in 1987. He did his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley where he earned an M.Sc. in astronomy in 1990 and a Ph.D in astronomy in 1994^[1]. Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ... Princeton University is a coeducational private university located in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States of America. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, and by other names, see below) is the oldest and flagship campus of the ten-campus University of California system. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate (or graduate) course of one to three years in duration. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Discoveries

Brown is well-known in the scientific community for his surveys for distant objects orbiting the Sun. His team has discovered many trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Particularly notable are Eris, the first TNO discovered that is larger than Pluto, and is one of a number of dwarf planets in the Solar System; 90377 Sedna, a planetoid thought to be the first observed body belonging to the inner Öpik-Oort cloud; and 90482 Orcus. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... This article is about the trans-Neptunian object. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... (84719) 2002 VR128 (also written (84719) 2002 VR128) is a trans-Neptunian object. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... 90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object, discovered by Michael Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) on November 14, 2003. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining until the end of the year. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 90482 Orcus (originally known by the provisional designation 2004 DW) is a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that was discovered by Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... (119951) 2002 KX14, also written as 2002 KX14, is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) residing within the Kuiper belt. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... (120178) 2003 OP32, also written as (120178) 2003 OP32,is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) that resides in the Kuiper belt. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ... This article is about the year 2001. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2001. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... (136108) 2003 EL61 (also written (136108) 2003 EL61), is a large (roughly one-third the mass of Pluto) and very unusual Kuiper belt object discovered by Mike Brown at Caltech in the United States. ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... (136472) 2005 FY9 (also written (136472) 2005 FY9) is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Eris (IPA pronunciation ) or ), also designated (136199) Eris or 136199 Eris (See Minor planet names), is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Dysnomia (officially designated (136199) Eris I Dysnomia) is a moon of the dwarf planet Eris. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Eris (IPA pronunciation ) or ), also designated (136199) Eris or 136199 Eris (See Minor planet names), is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. ... Adjective Plutonian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... This article is about the Solar System. ... 90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object, discovered by Michael Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) on November 14, 2003. ... Planetoid (meaning planet-like) is an old synonym of asteroid. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... 90482 Orcus (originally known by the provisional designation 2004 DW) is a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that was discovered by Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. ...

Brown and his team also had been observing (136108) 2003 EL₆₁ for approximately six months before its announced discovery by José Luis Ortiz Moreno and colleagues from the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain. Brown originally indicated his support for Ortiz's team being given credit for the discovery of 2003 EL₆₁. However, further investigation showed that a website containing archives of where Brown's team's telescopes had been pointed while tracking 2003 EL₆₁ had been accessed eight times in the three days preceding Ortiz's announcement, by computers with IP addresses that were traced back to the website of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC, Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia), where Ortiz works, and to e-mail messages sent by Ortiz and his student. This was a week after Brown had published an abstract for an upcoming conference talk at which he had planned to announce the discovery of 2003 EL₆₁; the abstract referred to 2003 EL₆₁ by a code which was the same code used in the online telescope logs; and the Andalusia computers had accessed the logs containing that code directly, as would be the case after an Internet search, without going through the home page or other pages of the archives^[2]. When asked about this online activity, Ortiz responded with an email to Brown that ignored the question, and instead suggested Brown was at fault for "hiding objects" and that "the only reason why we are now exchanging e-mail is because you did not report your object."^[3] As Brown has pointed out, such an accusation contradicts the accepted scientific practice of analyzing one's research until one is satisfied that it is accurate, then submitting it to peer review prior to any public announcement. The director of the CSIC has also distanced himself from Ortiz, insisting that its researchers have "sole responsibility" for themselves. (136108) 2003 EL61 (also written (136108) 2003 EL61), is a large (roughly one-third the mass of Pluto) and very unusual Kuiper belt object discovered by Mike Brown at Caltech in the United States. ... José-Luís Ortiz Moreno is an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain. ... The Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN) (37° 03′ 51″ N 03° 23′ 05″ W 2896m) is located at Loma de Dilar in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in the province of Granada. ... An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique address that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP)—in simpler terms, a computer address. ...

Although the matter has not yet been settled as of September 2005, Brown has petitioned the International Astronomical Union to credit his team rather than Ortiz as the discoverers of 2003 EL₆₁. At least one authority within the IAU has suggested that Brown's team will indeed end up being recognized as the discoverers. Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (French: Union astronomique internationale) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ...

Brown was named one of Time's 100 Influential People of 2006^[4]. Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ...

Personal life

Brown married Diane Binney on March 1, 2003^[5]. They have one daughter, Lilah Binney Brown, born July 7, 2005^[6]. March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Footnotes

2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... Time (whose trademark is capitalized TIME) is a weekly American newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ...

External links

• Brown's homepage