Astronomer Michael A'Hearn has won the 2008 Kuiper Prize in recognition of his seminal contributions to, and leadership of, the study of comets. Awarded by the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Science (DPS), the Kuiper Prize is given "to scientists whose achievements have most advanced our understanding of the planetary system."
A'Hearn received the award and delivered a Kuiper Prize lecture at the DPS annual meeting that ran from October 10 through October 15 in Ithaca, New York. A'Hearn is associate editor of the Springer journal Earth, Moon, and Planets.
This is the second major space science award A'Hearn has received in 2008. In August, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics awarded him its Space Science Award "for his leadership of the 'Deep Impact' mission, which delivered the first man-made object to impact the nucleus of a comet and study its composition."
A'Hearn studied physics at Boston College, and then earned his PhD in astronomy from the University of Wisconsin. From there he went to the University of Maryland where much of his early work was based on telescopic observations. In 1986, asteroid 3192 A'Hearn was named in honor of his contributions to cometary science.
Awarded by the Division of Planetary Science annually (or less frequently), the prize is named for Gerard P. Kuiper who is widely regarded as the father of planetary science. The DPS, the largest special interest division of the American Astronomical Society, is devoted to solar system research.