Chad Trujillo: Encyclopedia - Chad Trujillo

Chad Trujillo

Chadwick A. "Chad" Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of 2003 UB₃₁₃, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet.

Trujillo works with computer software and has examined the orbits of the numerous trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which is the outer area of the solar system that he specialized in. In late August, 2005, it was announced that Trujillo, along with with Michael E. Brown and David L. Rabinowitz), had discovered 2003 UB₃₁₃. This was the first TNO known to be larger than the planet Pluto. Later in 2005, the TNO was revealed to have a moon.

Chad Trujillo - Early career

Trujillo was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech, and is currently an astronomer at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii [1]. He studies the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system.

He received his B.Sc. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1995 and was a member of the Xi chapter of Tau Epsilon Phi. Trujillo received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaii in 2000.

Chad Trujillo - List of discoveries

He has discovered several trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). The last major TNO, temporary called 2003 UB313, is considered by him, his team, NASA, and many others to be the fabled Tenth Planet, but the International Astronomical Union has yet to confirm its status.

These objects include:

• 50000 Quaoar (with Brown)
• 90377 Sedna (with Brown and Rabinowitz) — possibly the first known inner Oort cloud object.
• 90482 Orcus (with Brown and Rabinowitz)
• 2003 UB₃₁₃ (with Michael E. Brown and David L. Rabinowitz). First discovered TNO larger than Pluto.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Chad Trujillo", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki