Studying the stars has earned a Tucson based scientist an international honor.

Faith Vilas is with Tucsons Planetary Science Institute, a private space research organization.

Shes this winner of this years Kuiper Prize from the Division of Planetary Sciences of American Astronomical Society. Previous winners include famous astronomers like Carl Sagan and Eugene Shoemaker, who co-discovered the Shoemaker-Levy Comet.

Vilas has done groundbreaking studies of stars, the Moon and Mercury.

She will accept the award in Helsinki, Finland next month.

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