Steven J. Ostro | |
---|---|
Born | Steven Jeffrey Ostro March 9, 1946 Somerville, New Jersey, U.S. |
Died | December 15, 2008 | (aged 62)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Rutgers University Cornell University Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Spouse | Jeanne |
Children | Marguerite, Brian, and Jules |
Awards | Gerard P. Kuiper Prize NASA Distinguished Service Medal |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | The Structure of Saturn's Rings and the Surfaces of the Galilean Satellites as Inferred from Radar Observations (1978) |
Doctoral advisor | Gordon Pettengill |
Steven Jeffrey Ostro (March 9, 1946 – December 15, 2008) was an American scientist specializing in radar astronomy. He worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ostro led radar observations of numerous asteroids, as well as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, Saturn's rings, and Mars and its satellites. As of May 2008, Ostro and his collaborators had detected 222 near-Earth asteroids, including 130 potentially hazardous objects and 24 binaries, and 118 main belt objects with radar.[1]
He died December 15, 2008, due to complications related to cancer. He has been remembered fondly by his colleagues for both his personal and professional contributions.[2]