Steven Ostro of JPL has passed away...

[MeteorWayne]

<p>http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/36421054.html</p><p>"Steve realized radar's potential not only for determining the surface characteristics of small rocky bodies but also for pinpointing their line-of-sight distance and velocity with incredible accuracy. Guided by his skill at wringing absolutely every bit of information from a radar echo, both of these capabilities became powerful analytical tools in the effort to understand near-Earth asteroids and the threat they pose to Earth.<br /><br />Over time Steve and radar scientists he trained racked up hundreds of successful asteroid "hits" with the NASA dish and the even larger Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. They're all tallied on the informative website that Steve maintained to chronicle his team's work."</p><p>Steve came from my area in NJ, his family owned the local camera shop back in my youth. He made many valuable contributions to astronomy.</p><p>From his brother Stu's (of TWC) blog:</p><p>In addition to other awards, he was <font color="#3333ff">a recipient</font> of the highest honor bestowed by the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences, the <font color="#3333ff">Gerard P. Kuiper Prize</font>. Dr. Kuiper was the scientist after whom the <font color="#3333ff">Kuiper Belt</font> is named. Other winners have included <font color="#3333ff">Carl Sagan</font>, <font color="#3333ff">James Van Allen</font> (the <font color="#3333ff">Van Allen radiation belts</font>), and <font color="#3333ff">Eugene Shoemaker</font> (of <font color="#3333ff">Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9</font>). There's even an asteroid named after Steve: <font color="#3333ff">3169 Ostro</font>.</p><p>From The Planetary Society:</p><p>http://planetary.org/news/2008/1216_Steven_J_Ostro_1946__2008.html</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>