Jay U. Gunter

Lore & Background

Gunter was born in Sanford, North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1931. He continued his medical education there and at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, receiving his degree in 1938. During the Second World War he served in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy. From 1947 he worked as Pathologist and Director of Laboratories at Watts Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, and was also a visiting Professor of Pathology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Reader's Guide

After retiring in 1976, Gunter devoted the rest of his life to amateur astronomy, focusing on asteroids. He founded and for more than 15 years published the popular magazine Tonight's Asteroids, a bimonthly periodical distributed free that contained finding charts and news from the world of asteroid studies. The magazine was widely acknowledged for bringing the attention of many amateur astronomers to asteroid observation. In 1980 the main-belt asteroid 2136 Jugta was named in his honor, the name being an acronym of the first letters of his and his magazine's names. He received the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1983 and the Caroline Herschel Award of the Western Amateur Astronomer Society in 1989. His legacy lies in his dedicated efforts to engage amateur astronomers in asteroid observation through his free publication.

Did You Know?

• Gunter founded and published the free bimonthly magazine Tonight's Asteroids for more than 15 years.
• The asteroid 2136 Jugta was named in his honor, with the name being an acronym of his and his magazine's names.
• He received the Amateur Achievement Award in 1983 and the Caroline Herschel Award in 1989.