Edgar Wilson was an American businessman who lived in
Lexington, Kentucky.[1] After he died in 1976, the Edgar Wilson Charitable Trust Fund was set up and awards were allocated in accordance with the terms of his bequest.[2]
Eligibility
Each year the award is divided between amateur astronomers who during that year, using amateur equipment, discover one or more new comets which are then officially named after them. The annual total award is of the order of US$20,000 but fluctuates from year to year. In any year when there are no eligible discoverers, CBAT makes the award to the amateur astronomer or astronomers it considers "have made the greatest contribution toward promoting an interest in the study of comets".[2]
Recipients
Later than 2014 awards were given at least in the years 2015, 2016, 2017. But – summarized – publication lacks somehow.[3]
2015
Gao Xing (Gaoxing) (3) and Sun Guoyou, China (C/2015 F5 (SWAN-Xingming))[4]
William Kwong Yeung, Benson, Arizona, U.S. (P/2002 BV)
Kaoru Ikeya, Mori, Shuchi, Shizuoka, Japan (C/2002 C1)
Daqing Zhang, Kaifeng, Henan province, China (C/2002 C1)
Douglas Snyder, Palominas, Arizona, U.S. (C/2002 E2)
Shigeki Murakami, Matsunoyama, Niigata, Japan (C/2002 E2)
Syogo Utsunomiya, Minami-Oguni, Aso, Kumamoto, Japan (C/2002 F1)
2001
Albert F. A. L. Jones, Stoke, Nelson, New Zealand (C/2000 W1)
Syogo Utsunomiya, Minami-Oguni, Aso, Kumamoto, Japan (C/2000 W1)
2000
Daniel W. Lynn, Kinglake West, Victoria, Australia (C/1999 N2)
Korado Korlevic, Visnjan, Croatia (P/1999 WJ7)
Gary Hug and Graham E. Bell, Eskridge, Kansas, U.S. (P/1999 X1)
1999
Peter Williams, Heathcote, N.S.W., Australia (C/1998 P1)
Roy A. Tucker, Tucson, Arizona, U.S. (P/1998 QP54)
Michael Jaeger, Weissenkirchen i.d. Wachau, Austria (P/1998 U3)
Justin Tilbrook, Clare, S. Australia (C/1999 A1)
Korado Korlevic and Mario Juric, Visnjan, Croatia (P/1999 DN3)
Steven Lee, Coonabarabran, N.S.W., Australia (C/1999 H1)
Among the first eight years' worth of Wilson Awards (1999–2006), 17 awards went to visual discoverers of comets, 10 awards went to CCD discoverers, and one award went to a photographic discoverer of a comet. (Here, an "award" is taken to mean one full award, meaning that some teams of two people—in cases of CCD discoveries—represent single cash awards that are split evenly between the team members, even though each member gets their own award plaque.)
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abJ. Kelly Beatty (23 August 2009).
"The Edgar Wilson Award". SkyandTelescope.com. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
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ab"The Edgar Wilson Award". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 24 September 2007. Archived from
the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2012.