Alexandersen, Mike
Astronomer at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
0000-0003-4143-8589
Alexandersen, Mike
Astronomer at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Research expertise: Observational surveys for the discovery of Solar System minor planets (asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper Belt Objects); survey simulations for comparison of reality and Solar System models; Moons of the giant planets; Software development and automation (Python, Bash, Awk, Sed)
Minor Planet Center duties: Fitting & publishing orbits for observations of distant minor planets (Centaurs, Kuiper Belt Objects); Fitting & publishing orbits for observations of moons of the giant planets; Software development and automation.
Positions
- Astronomer (staff), Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 2023 -
- MPC Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 2020 - 2023
Research Areas
- Asteroids
- Asteroids--Distribution
- Asteroids--Orbits
- Asteroids--Photographic measurements
- Dwarf planets
- Jupiter (Planet)--Satellites
- Kuiper Belt
- Near-earth asteroids
- Neptune (Planet)--Satellites
- Planets, Ultra-Neptunian
- Satellites
- Saturn (Planet)--Satellites
- Trans-Neptunian objects
- Uranus (Planet)--Satellites
Geographic Focus
- Massachusetts State or Province
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Alexandersen, Mike, Holman, Matthew J., and Payne, Matthew J. 2026. "Cleaning TESS Images to Reveal Solar System Objects." The Planetary Science Journal, 7 192. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae8a4d. 2026
- Ashton, Edward, Gladman, Brett, Alexandersen, Mike, and Petit, Jean-Marc. 2025. "Retrograde Predominance of Small Saturnian Moons Reiterates a Recent Retrograde Collisional Disruption." The Planetary Science Journal, 6 283. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ae1d62. 2025
- Sheppard, Scott S., Tholen, David J., Brozovic, Marina, Jacobson, Robert, Trujillo, Chadwick A., Lykawka, Patryk Sofia, and Alexandersen, Mike. 2024. "New Moons of Uranus and Neptune from Ultradeep Pencil-beam Surveys." The Astronomical Journal, 168 258. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ad7fed. 2024
- Petit, Jean-Marc, Gladman, Brett, Kavelaars, J. J., Bannister, Michele T., Alexandersen, Mike, Volk, Kathryn, and Chen, Ying-Tung. 2023. "The Hot Main Kuiper Belt Size Distribution from OSSOS." The Astrophysical Journal, 947. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc525. 2023
- Buchanan, Laura E., Schwamb, Megan E., Fraser, Wesley C., Bannister, Michele T., Marsset, Michaël, Pike, Rosemary E., Nesvorný, David, Kavelaars, J. J., Benecchi, Susan D., Lehner, Matthew J., Wang, Shiang-Yu, Peixinho, Nuno, Volk, Kathryn, Alexandersen, Mike, Chen, Ying-Tung, Gladman, Brett, Gwyn, Stephen, and Petit, Jean-Marc. 2022. "Col-OSSOS: Probing Ice Line/Color Transitions within the Kuiper Belt's Progenitor Populations." The Planetary Science Journal, 3 9. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac42c9. 2022
- Ashton, Edward, Gladman, Brett, Beaudoin, Matthew, Alexandersen, Mike, and Petit, Jean-Marc. 2022. "Discovery of the Closest Saturnian Irregular Moon, S/2019 S 1, and Implications for the Direct/Retrograde Satellite Ratio." The Planetary Science Journal, 3 107. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac64a2. 2022
- Crompvoets, B. L., Lawler, S. M., Volk, K., Chen, Y. -T, Gladman, B., Peltier, L., Alexandersen, Mike, Bannister, M. T., Gwyn, S., Kavelaars, J. J., and Petit, J. -M. 2022. "OSSOS XXV: Large Populations and Scattering-Sticking in the Distant Trans-Neptunian Resonances." The Planetary Science Journal, 3 113. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac67e0. 2022
- Abedin, Abedin Y., Kavelaars, J. J., Petit, Jean-Marc, Gladman, Brett, Bannister, Michele, Alexandersen, Mike, Chen, Ying-Tung, Gwyn, Stephen, and Volk, Kathryn. 2022. "OSSOS. XXVI. On the Lack of Catastrophic Collisions in the Present Kuiper Belt." The Astronomical Journal, 164 261. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ac9cdb. 2022
- Pike, Rosemary E., Kanwar, Jayatee, Alexandersen, Mike, Chen, Ying-Tung, and Schwamb, Megan E. 2021. "Characterizing the Discovery of a New Trans-Neptunian Object Binary in a Trailed Point-spread Function Search." The Planetary Science Journal, 2 159. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac0e29. 2021
- Kavelaars, J. J., Petit, Jean-Marc, Gladman, Brett, Bannister, Michele T., Alexandersen, Mike, Chen, Ying-Tung, Gwyn, Stephen D. J., and Volk, Kathryn. 2021. "OSSOS Finds an Exponential Cutoff in the Size Distribution of the Cold Classical Kuiper Belt." The Astrophysical Journal, 920 L28. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac2c72. 2021
- Abedin, Abedin Y., Kavelaars, J. J., Greenstreet, Sarah, Petit, Jean-Marc, Gladman, Brett, Lawler, Samantha, Bannister, Michele, Alexandersen, Mike, Chen, Ying-Tung, Gwyn, Stephen, and Volk, Kathryn. 2021. "OSSOS. XXI. Collision Probabilities in the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt." The Astronomical Journal, 161 195. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/abe418. 2021
- Alexandersen, Mike, Greenstreet, Sarah, Gladman, Brett J., Bannister, Michele T., Chen, Ying-Tung, Gwyn, Stephen D. J., Kavelaars, JJ, Petit, Jean-Marc, Volk, Kathryn, Lehner, Matthew J., and Wang, Shiang-Yu. 2021. "OSSOS. XXIII. 2013 VZ70 and the Temporary Coorbitals of the Giant Planets." The Planetary Science Journal, 2 212. https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ac1c6b. 2021
- Lin, Hsing Wen, Chen, Ying-Tung, Volk, Kathryn, Gladman, Brett, Murray-Clay, Ruth, Alexandersen, Mike, Bannister, Michele T., Lawler, Samantha M., Ip, Wing-Huen, Lykawka, Patryk Sofia, Kavelaars, J. J., Gwyn, Stephen D. J., and Petit, Jean-Marc. 2021. "OSSOS: The eccentricity and inclination distributions of the stable Neptunian Trojans." Icarus, 361 114391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114391. 2021
- Castro-Chacón, J. H., Reyes-Ruiz, M., Lehner, Matthew J., Zhang, Z. -W, Alcock, Charles A., Guerrero, C. A., Hernández-Valencia, B., Hernández-Águila, J. B., Nuñez, J. M., Salinas-Luna, J., Silva, J. S., Alexandersen, Mike, Alvarez-Santana, F. I., Chen, W. -P, Chu, Y. -H, Cook, K. H., García-Díaz, Ma T., Geary, John C., Huang, C. -K, Kavelaars, JJ, Norton, T., Szentgyorgyi, Andrew H., Carvajal, J. C., Sánchez, E., Yen, W. -L et al. 2019. "Occultations by Small Non-spherical Trans-Neptunian Objects. I. A New Event Simulator for TAOS II." Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 131 064401. https://doi.org/10.1088/1538-3873/ab152e. 2019
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Conference Paper
- Fraser, Wesley, Lawler, Samantha, Pike, Rosemary, Kavelaars, JJ, Ashton, Edward, Gwyn, Stephen, Chen, Yingtung, Gladman, Brett, Huang, Yukun, Petit, Jeanmarc, Obidowski, Justine, Peltier, Lowell, Alexandersen, Mike, Noyelles, Benoit, Chang, Changkao, Wang, Shiangyu, Volk, Kat, Van Laerhoven, Christa, Bannister, Michele, and Cowan, Preeti. 2025. "The Classical and Large-a Solar System." in EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2025. 2025, EPSC-955. https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc-dps2025-955. 2025
Contact
Location
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Academic Department
