Milton L. Humason
Milton Lasell Humason (August 19 1891 – June 18 1972) was as American astronomer. He was born in Dodge Center, Minnesota.
He started out as a janitor at the Mount Wilson Observatory in 1917, but soon became night assistant. As a professional, he became known as a meticulous observer, obtaining photographs and spectrograms. His observations played a major role in the development of cosmology. He retired in 1957.
He discovered Comet C/1961 R1 (Humason), notable for its large perihelion distance.
Due to merest chance, Humason missed discovering Pluto. Eleven years before Clyde Tombaugh, Humason took a photograph in which the image of Pluto fell on a defect in the photographic plate and was not detected.
Honors
- Humason crater on the Moon is named for him.