Introduction
Christopher Aikman is an astrophysicist who spent most of his career (from 1968 to 1997) at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) in Saanich, British Columbia, Canada.
His initial research was on the spectroscopy of chemically peculiar stars, whose surface compositions differ markedly from that of the Sun, with the aim of understanding the origin of their anomalies. From 1991, he conducted a program of tracking Earth approaching asteroids with the historic telescope built by John S. Plaskett, but the project was cancelled in 1997.
He was the Canadian representative on the Spaceguard Foundation, a group concerned with assessing the asteroid impact threat to Earth. An incidental product of this research was the discovery of four asteroids between 1994 and 1998 (as credited by the Minor Planet Center).
Publications
- Aikman, G. C. L.; Hesser, J.E. (1998). "Annual Report of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 30 (1): 472–489. Bibcode:1998BAAS...30..472A.
- Aikman, G. Christopher L.; Balam, D.D.; Tatum, J.B. (1994). "Astrometric recovery and follow-up of near-Earth asteroids". Planetary and Space Science. 42 (8): 611–621. Bibcode:1994P&SS...42..611T. doi:10.1016/0032-0633(94)90036-1.
- Cowley, C. R.; Aikman, G.C.L. (1975). "Nuclear and nonnuclear abundance patterns in the manganese stars". Astrophysical Journal. 196: 521–524. Bibcode:1975ApJ...196..521C. doi:10.1086/153432.