Edgar Wilson (comet enthusiast)
Annual award for amateur comet discoverers, administered by the SAO.
The Edgar Wilson Award, an annual international prize first given in 1998, includes a plaque and a cash award that typically amounts to roughly US$20,000 but varies each year. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) administers it through the IAU’s Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT). The award recognizes amateur astronomers who, using amateur equipment, discover one or more new comets during the year; those comets are then officially named after the discoverers. If no eligible discoverers exist in a given year, CBAT instead gives the award to the amateur astronomer or astronomers it judges to have done the most to promote interest in comet study.
The award’s origins trace to Edgar Wilson, an American businessman from Lexington, Kentucky. After his death in 1976, the Edgar Wilson Charitable Trust Fund was created, and awards have been distributed according to the terms of his bequest. Although the award was not given from 2014 onward, it was reestablished in 2024 (without a donated prize). The CBAT confirmed in 2024 that awards for comet discoveries made between July 2014 and June 2018 had been granted.
2024: Hideo Nishimura, Japan (C/2023 P1); Gennadii Borisov, Russia (C/2023 T2); Jordi Camarasa, Spain, and Grzegorz Duszanowicz, Sweden (C/2023 V4); Xing Gao and Xi Liao, China, and Robson Henrique dos Santos Hahn, Germany (P/2024 FG9). 2023: Alain Maury, Chile, and Georges Attard, France (C/2022 N1); Jost Jahn, Germany (P/2023 C1). 2022: Hideo Nishimura, Japan (C/2021 O1); Alain Maury, Chile, and Georges Attard, France (P/2021 U3, C/2021 X1, C/2022 J1). 2021: Leonardo S. Amaral, Brazil (C/2020 O2); Gennadii Borisov, Russia (C/2020 Q1 and C/2021 L3); Alain Maury, Chile, and Georges Attard, France (C/2021 J1). 2020: Gennadii Borisov, Russia (2I/2019 Q4 and C/2019 V1); Masayuki Iwamoto, Japan (C/2020 A2); Eduardo Pimentel, Brazil (P/2020 G1); Cristovao Jacques, Eduardo Pimentel, and Joao Barros, Brazil (C/2020 J1). 2019: Donald Edward Machholz, USA (C/2018 V1, posthumous); Shigehisa Fujikawa, Japan (C/2018 V1); Masayuki Iwamoto, Japan (C/2018 V1 and C/2018 Y1). 2018: Joao Barros, Brazil (C/2018 E2).
- Established
- 1998
- Administrator
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) through the IAU's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT)
- Annual award amount
- of the order of US$20,000 but fluctuates from year to year
- Award gap
- not given from 2014, reestablished in 2024 (without a donated price)
- First award year
- 1999
- Last listed year
- 2024
Lore & Background
The Edgar Wilson Award was established in 1998 through the Edgar Wilson Charitable Trust Fund, set up after the death of Edgar Wilson, an American businessman from Lexington, Kentucky, in 1976. The awards are allocated in accordance with the terms of his bequest. Each year, the award is divided between amateur astronomers who, using amateur equipment, discover one or more new comets that are officially named after them. In years with no eligible discoverers, the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams awards it to the amateur astronomer or astronomers it considers to have made the greatest contribution toward promoting an interest in the study of comets. The annual total award is of the order of US$20,000 but fluctuates from year to year. The award was not given from 2014 until it was reestablished in 2024, though without a donated price. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory has awarded the recipients, and after 2014 the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams confirmed in 2024 that awards for comet discoveries in the period July 2014 – June 2018 had been given.
Reader's Guide
The Edgar Wilson Award holds significance as a dedicated recognition for amateur astronomers who discover comets, a field where amateurs have historically made substantial contributions. The award's administration by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory through the IAU's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams lends it institutional credibility. The award's structure—dividing the monetary prize among eligible discoverers each year—reflects the collaborative nature of comet discovery, with some awards split between team members. The list of recipients from 1999 to 2024 shows a global reach, with discoverers from Japan, Russia, Spain, Sweden, China, Germany, Chile, France, Brazil, Australia, the United States, Canada, Poland, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Korea, New Zealand, Croatia, Austria, and others. The award's legacy includes noting that among the first eight years (1999–2006), 17 awards went to visual discoverers, 10 to CCD discoverers, and one to a photographic discoverer, illustrating the evolution of amateur astronomy techniques. The gap from 2014 to 2024 and subsequent reestablishment highlight the award's intermittent nature but enduring importance to the amateur astronomy community.
More in Amateur Astronomy 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced