Mark R. Showalter
| Mark R. Showalter | |
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| Born | Mark Robert Showalter December 5, 1957 Abington, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Residence | California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Astronomy, astrophysics, space science, planetary science |
| Institutions | SETI Institute |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College (B.A.); Cornell University (M.Sc.), (Ph.D.) |
| Known for | Discoverer or co-discoverer of Jovian gossamer ring, Saturnian moon Pan, Uranian moons Mab and Cupid, Uranian rings μ and ν, Neptunian moon S/2004 N 1, Plutonian moons Kerberos and Styx |
| Spouse | Frank Yellin |
Mark Robert Showalter (born December 5, 1957) is a Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute. He is the discoverer of six moons and three planetary rings. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's Planetary Data System Rings Node, a co-investigator on the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn, and works closely with the New Horizons mission to Pluto.
Showalter was born in Abington, Pennsylvania. He enjoyed playing with science-themed toys while a child, and later mowed lawns as a teenager so that he might purchase a telescope in high school. He received a Bachelor of Arts in physics and mathematics from Oberlin College in 1979. He was initially undecided about pursuing a career in astronomy after his undergraduate education, but made up his mind after seeing the images of Jupiter sent back to Earth by Voyager 2.
Showalter received his MS in astronomy from Cornell University in 1982, and his PhD from Cornell in 1985. His thesis was on Jupiter's ring system, in which he discovered the gossamer ring of Jupiter.
In 1990, using ten-year-old Voyager data, Showalter discovered Pan, the eighteenth and innermost moon of Saturn. It orbits within and keeps open the Encke Gap in Saturn's rings via shepherding.
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