Helmut Arthur Abt (26 May 1925 – 22 November 2024) was a German-born American astrophysicist, having worked at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

in Physics from Northwestern University in 1948,[8] and became the first person to be awarded a Ph.D. in astrophysics at California Institute of Technology in 1952 for his thesis work on W Virginis.

[7] From 1953 to 1959 he was assistant professor at Yerkes Observatory, part of the University of Chicago, then joined the staff of the Kitt Peak National Observatory as an astronomer, where he remained until 2000.

[4] His areas of research included stellar rotation; binary stars, including spectroscopic binaries; stellar classification; and bibliometrics of astronomy publications.

[10] The main-belt asteroid 9423 Abt, discovered by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak National Observatory in 1996,[3] and Abt's star (SV Crateris/ HD 98088/ ADS 8115) in the constellation Crater[12] were named in his honor.