3530 Hammel

3530 Hammel is an asteroid named for Dr. Heidi B. Hammel, then a principal research scientist in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Discovered in 1981 in the course of the UK Schmidt-Caltech Asteroid Survey, this asteroid was originally designated as "1981 EC₂₀." The Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union announced the name in 1996 [1].

The accompanying citation was:

"Hammel – An indefatigable observer of the atmospheres of the outer planets, she is best-known for her long-term monitoring of Neptune. As an expert in planetary imaging, she was selected as the team leader for the Hubble Space Telescope project to observe the consequences of the Jupiter impact by Shoemaker-Levy 9. She also devotes substantial effort to public education and is a great communicator of the excitement of planetary science."

External links

• [2] MIT News Office
• iWASwondering.org Learn more about Heidi Hammel at this science Web site for kids.