Christensen holds a BFA from the University of Arizona, with a concentration in ceramic sculpture.^[2]

In 2003, Christensen joined the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) near Tucson, Arizona, as an observer. He was involved in software development during a major equipment upgrade at the observatory.^[3] Around 2007,^{[citation needed]} Christensen left CSS to work at the Gemini South telescope in Chile as part of the science operations team, including hunting for meteorites in the Atacama Desert.^[2]

In 2012, Christensen returned to CSS as a survey operations manager.^[4]^[5]^[1] For ten years, he was the director of the survey's near-Earth object (NEO) operations, including observing, software development, cadence optimization, telescope and instrument maintenance and collimation, survey modeling and optimization, and project management.^[2]

In August 2023, Christensen returned to Chile with his family to join the Vera C. Rubin Observatory as an observing specialist manager.^[4] The telescope is expected to see first light in January 2025, and start survey operations in August 2025.^[6]

Discoveries

Numbered comets

Unnumbered comets

C/2005 B1 (Christensen)
C/2005 O2 (Christensen)
C/2005 W2 (Christensen)
C/2006 F2 (Christensen)
C/2006 W3 (Christensen)
C/2006 YC (Catalina–Christensen)
C/2013 K1 (Christensen)
C/2014 H1 (Christensen)
C/2014 M2 (Christensen)
C/2014 W7 (Christensen)
P/2022 E1 (Christensen)

Awards and honors

Asteroid 13858 Ericchristensen, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in 1999, was named in his honor.^[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 July 2013 (M.P.C. 84377).^[7]

Career

Discoveries

Awards and honors

References

External links