Brian Dale Warner (born 1952) is an American amateur astronomer and computer programmer. In 2006 he was awarded the inaugural Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award by the American Astronomical Society.[3][4]
Brian D. Warner | |
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Born | Brian Dale Warner[1] 1952 (age 71–72)[2] |
Alma mater | |
Occupations | |
Awards | Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award (2006) |
From the 1990s to 2011 Warner operated from the Palmer Divide Observatory at his home near Colorado Springs, Colorado.[5][6][3] Since 2011 he has operated from the Palmer Divide Station (U82) at the Center for Solar System Studies in Landers, California.[7]
Warner's astronomy has included extensive use of photometry to record the light curves of asteroids and variable stars.[3] His identification of five pairs of binary asteroids in the main belt contributed to the abandonment of the theory that binary asteroids only form through tidal interactions with planets.[8][4] He discovered the asteroids 70030 Margaretmiller, 34366 Rosavestal and 34398 Terryschmidt.[9]
Warner is the developer of the Minor Planet Observer (MPO) suite of astronomy software used for photometry observations of asteroids and variable stars.[10][11] He also authored the 2006 book A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry and Analysis, published by Springer, on using photometry to study asteroids and variable stars.[10]
Warner studied undergraduate physics at the University of Colorado. In 2005 he was awarded a master's degree in astronomy from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia.[4][12][8]
The 4.9 km (3.0 mi) wide main belt asteroid 8734 Warner is named in his honor.[2][13]