David J. Tholen
David Tholen | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Kansas (BS) University of Arizona (PhD) |
| Known for | Search for minor planets |
| Awards | Harold C. Urey Prize (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy Planetary science |
| Thesis | Asteroid Taxonomy from Cluster Analysis of Photometry. (1984) |
| Doctoral advisor | Benjamin Zellner |
| Website | legacy |
| see § List of discovered minor planets |
David James Tholen (born 1955) is an American astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaiʻi. He holds a 1978 B.S. from the University of Kansas, a 1984 PhD from the University of Arizona, and specializes in planetary and Solar System astronomy. He is a discoverer of minor planets and known for the Tholen spectral classification scheme used on asteroids.