Jean-Louis Pons
Jean-Louis Pons (born December 24, 1761 in Peyre ( Hautes-Alpes ), † October 14, 1831 in Florence ) was a French astronomer . Between 1801 and 1827, Pons discovered 37 comets , making him the most successful comet discoverer to this day.
Pon's astronomical career did not begin until 1789, when he took up the post of caretaker at the Observatoire de Marseille at the age of 27 . The director of the observatory gave him lessons in astronomy . Pons discovered his first comet on July 11, 1801. In the following period he specialized, like his compatriots Charles Messier and Pierre Méchain , in the search for comets and found up to ten within a year (August 1826 to August 1827).
Pons later used self-made telescopes , about which little is known. In his records there are indications that his "large viewfinder" had a field of view of 3 °. Obviously, it is a device with a large aperture, a relatively short focal length and low magnification, which is also known as a “ comet finder ”.
On the other hand, although Pons developed great skill in tracking comets, his records are often vague and it appears that he had little interest in determining orbits .
Because of his success, Pons was given the post of assistant at the Marseille Observatory in 1813 . In 1818 he received the Lalande Prize from the French Academy of Sciences for discovering three comets in one year. In 1819 Maria Luisa of Spain appointed him director of the newly built observatory in Marlia near Lucca . His title was " Her Majesty Royal Astronomer, Director of the Astronomical Department of the Observatory and Professor Emeritus of the Royal Lyceum ". Immediately after his arrival in Lucca, Pons found a comet and the observatory looked forward to a bright future. However, the institute seemed to have put all of its energy into building the observatory. The performance was modest and after only four years operations were stopped. Pons had discovered a total of seven comets in Lucca. In 1825 the Grand Duke Leopold II appointed him director of the observatory and museum for physics and natural history in Florence. Until his death, Pons discovered another seven comets there.
Although Pons discovered five periodic comets, only three still bear his name, namely 7P / Pons-Winnecke , 12P / Pons-Brooks and 273P / Pons-Gambart. The comet found on November 26, 1818 was named Encke after just a few years , named after the astronomer Johann Franz Encke , who calculated its orbit and noted the remarkably short periodicity. The comet formerly known as "Pons-Coggia-Winnecke-Forbes" is now called 27P / Crommelin , after Andrew Crommelin , who determined its orbit.
The moon crater Pons and, since 1998, the asteroid (7645) Pons are named after him.
Web links
- Detailed biography ( memento from July 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- Publications by Pons in the Astrophysics Data System
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deutschlandradio from July 9, 2001: Jean Louis Pons , queried on July 10, 2011
- ↑ Minor Planet Circ. 31611
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pons, Jean-Louis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 24, 1761 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Peyre, France |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 14, 1831 |
| Place of death | Florence , Italy |