§ 16792. Charles “Pete” Conrad Astronomy Awards
(a)
Short title
This section may be cited as the “Charles ‘Pete’ Conrad Astronomy Awards Act”.
(b)
Definitions
For the purposes of this section—
(1)
the term “amateur astronomer” means an individual whose employer does not provide any funding, payment, or compensation to the individual for the observation of asteroids and other celestial bodies, and does not include any individual employed as a professional astronomer;
(2)
the term “Minor Planet Center” means the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory;
(3)
the term “near-Earth asteroid” means an asteroid with a perihelion distance of less than 1.3 Astronomical Units from the Sun; and
(4)
the term “Program” means the Charles “Pete” Conrad Astronomy Awards Program established under subsection (c).
(c)
Pete Conrad Astronomy Award Program
(1)
In general
The Administrator shall establish the Charles “Pete” Conrad Astronomy Awards Program.
(2)
Awards
The Administrator shall make awards under the Program based on the recommendations of the Minor Planet Center.
(3)
Award categories
The Administrator shall make one annual award, unless there are no eligible discoveries or contributions, for each of the following categories:
(A)
The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who in the preceding calendar year discovered the intrinsically brightest near-Earth asteroid among the near-Earth asteroids that were discovered during that year by amateur astronomers or groups of amateur astronomers.
(B)
The amateur astronomer or group of amateur astronomers who made the greatest contribution to the Minor Planet Center’s mission of cataloguing near-Earth asteroids during the preceding year.
(4)
Award amount
An award under the Program shall be in the amount of $3,000.
(5)
Guidelines
(A)
No individual who is not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States at the time of his discovery or contribution may receive an award under this section.
(B)
The decisions of the Administrator in making awards under this section are final.