Donald Machholz

Donald Edward Machholz, born October 7, 1952 in Portsmouth, Virginia, is an American amateur astronomer from Colfax, California.

He is the most successful living visual comet hunter in the United States, being credited with the discovery of 11 comets, including the periodic comets 96P/Machholz, 141P/Machholz, the non-periodic C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) that was easily visible in binoculars in the northern sky in 2004 and 2005, and most recently, C/2010 F4 (Machholz).^[1][2]

Machholz is also considered to be one of the inventors of the Messier marathon, which is a race to observe all the Messier objects in a single night.

Books by Don Machholz

• The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon: A Handbook and Atlas
• Decade of Comets: A Study of the 33 Comets Discovered by Amateur Astronomers Between 1975 and 1984
• An observer's guide to comet Hale-Bopp: Making the most of Comet Hale-Bopp : when and where to observe Comet Hale-Bopp and what to look for

References

1. ^ Gus Thomson (March 30, 2010). "Patience leads to new comet discovery by Colfax amateur astronomer". Auburn Journal. http://auburnjournal.com/detail/145919.html. Retrieved March 30, 2010. 
2. ^ Roger W. Sinnott (March 27, 2010). "New Comet Machholz". Sky & Telescope. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/proamcollab/astroalert/89322402.html. Retrieved March 30, 2010. 

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Name	Machholz, Donald
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Date of birth	1952
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