Alfred Schmitt (30 November 1907 – 2 April 1973) was a French
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
. Schmitt worked at
Algiers Observatory
The Algiers Observatory was built in the late 19th century in the Algiers suburb of Bouzaréah, Algeria, North Africa. It participated in the Astrographic Catalogue project, taking the zone between -2 and +4 degrees to expose 1,260 plates between ...
in the 1930s and 1940s and at the
Royal Observatory in
Uccle
Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in the 1950s. From 1955 to 1958 he was also director of the
Quito Observatory in Ecuador. He extensively studied minor planets and comets and is credited with having discovered four
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
s.
Personal life
Between 1940 and 1948 he married his colleague, astronomer
Odette Bancilhon
Odette Bancilhon (22 September 1908 – 1998) was a French astronomer. She is best known for her work during the 1930s and 1940s at the Algiers Observatory, in Algeria, North Africa, where she discovered 1333 Cevenola, a stony Eunomian asteroid f ...
and thereafter she signed her work as ''O. Schmitt-Bancilhon''.
Signature
Schmitt's publications are all signed A. Schmitt, following the practice of his profession at that time.
Boyer
In 1932, Schmitt discovered an asteroid while working at the Algiers Observatory and named it in honor of his colleague,
Louis Boyer – asteroid
1215 Boyer
1215 Boyer, provisional designation , is a stony Eunomian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by astronomer Alfred Schmitt in 1932, who named it after French astronomer ...
.
20 years later, Boyer named
1617 Alschmitt in Schmitt's honor.
References
External links
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names Google books
20th-century French astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
1907 births
1973 deaths
French people in French Algeria
French expatriates in Belgium
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