Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters (September 19, 1813 – July 18, 1890) was a German–American astronomer and professor at Hamilton College, New York, and a pioneer in the study and visual discovery of asteroids.

[8] Working at Hamilton College's Litchfield Observatory in Clinton, New York (near Utica), he was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 48 of them, beginning with 72 Feronia in 1861 and ending with 287 Nephthys in 1889.

When it came time to publish the results, however, Peters attempted to claim the entire project as his own, arguing that Borst was merely an employee and not a formal collaborator and that the research was his property as head of the observatory.

The eminent astronomer Simon Newcomb devotes a chapter in his memoirs to Peters, as an object lesson in how great scientific talent and poor ethical standards may coexist in a single individual.

Historian William Sheehan notes, "Peters was found lying, a half-burned cigar at his fingertips, on the doorstep of the building where he lodged; observing cap on his head, he had fallen in the line of duty, on the way to the observatory the night before.

"[1] Main-belt asteroid 100007 Peters, discovered by Eric Walter Elst at La Silla Observatory in 1988, was named in his memory, based on a suggestion by French amateur astronomer Michel-Alain Combes (born 1942).