thesis_year workplaces birth_date alma_mater thesis_url article_title name thesis_title
1968 yale university 05 march 1939 yale university http://search.proquest.com/docview/302358887/ e. myles standish
 e. myles standish numerical nbsp ; bodies studies of the gravitational problem of n &
e. myles standish

erland myles standish , jr. -lrb- born march 5 , 1939 -rrb- is a mathematical astronomer and a former professor at yale university .
he worked for caltech 's jet propulsion laboratory .
he has published over 300 articles , mostly in the field of solar system dynamics and celestial mechanics .
standish gained his ph.d degree at yale university with a thesis , produced in 1968 , called `` numerical studies of the gravitational problem of n bodies '' and his early work at yale university observatory concerned celestial mechanics and mathematical astronomy .
he joined the jet propulsion laboratory in the 1970s and continued his work there until his retirement in about 2006 .
he is known for his role in creating numerically integrated development ephemerides of the jet propulsion laboratory which have acquired and retain some usage .
early versions refined the accuracy of these fundamental astronomical data-sets by including many recent and accurate observational data , new types of data , using improved data processing methods , including refined equations of motion which more accurately described the actual physics of the solar system .
with the inclusion of the lunar work of j. g. williams and others , improved solar , planetary and lunar ephemerides were developed -lrb- in dev .
eph .
102 -rrb- far enough to have a significant historical as well as current coverage .
later versions of the development ephemerides have been used worldwide .
these include : development ephemeris de200 , which was officially used in the astronomical almanac -lrb- and in derived form , also in the nautical almanac -rrb- as the basis for the ephemerides of sun , moon and planets from 1984 through 2002 ; and de405 , which has been the basis of the corresponding ephemerides in the astronomical almanac and nautical almanac from and including 2003 , to the present date .
later examples of the development ephemerides supported the navigation of specific nasa planetary space missions with precise results .
standish 's work towards the development of the ephemerides took him also into the field of the history of astronomy , including study of the recently noted occurrence of neptune in the notes of galileo , identifying an additional manuscript observation of neptune by galileo -lrb- who had regarded it as a background star while studying the satellites of jupiter -rrb- , and analyzing its significance for the modern-day ephemerides .
more recently standish has collaborated with dr. elena v. pitjeva and dr. agnes fienga on the topic of a better determination of the astronomical unit and of the masses of the asteroids .
standish has also dealt with the pioneer anomaly issue by modeling it in a modified version of the usual ephemerides and fitting such a new dynamical theory of planetary motions to the usual , well-established observational data set .
in 2008 , standish received the nasa distinguished service medal .
