Auguste Honoré Charlois (November 26, 1864 – March 26, 1910) 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 ...
who discovered 99
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 while working at the
Nice Observatory
The Nice Observatory (french: Observatoire de Nice) is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mount Gros. The observatory was founded in 1879, by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim. The architect was Charles Garni ...
in southeastern France.
Asteroid Discovery
His first discovery was the asteroid
267 Tirza in 1887.
He photographed
433 Eros on the very night of its discovery by
Gustav Witt
Carl Gustav Witt (29 October 1866 – 3 January 1946) was a German astronomer and discoverer of two asteroids who worked at the Berlin Urania Observatory, a popular observatory of the Urania astronomical association of Berlin.
He wrote a doct ...
, but was not able to act quickly enough before Witt announced his find.
Although he started searching for asteroids in the era of visual detection, by 1891
Max Wolf
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Kà ...
had pioneered the use of
astrophotography
Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...
to drastically speed up the rate of detection of asteroids, and both Wolf and Charlois separately discovered far more asteroids than would have been feasible by visual detection.
In 1899, Charlois received the
Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the
Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society, and was also awarded the
Valz Prize
The Valz Prize ''(Prix Valz)'' was awarded by the French Academy of Sciences, from 1877 through 1970, to honor advances in astronomy.
History
The Valz Prize was established in June 1874 when the widow of astronomer Benjamin Valz, Marie Madeleine J ...
by the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...
in 1889 for his work on calculating asteroid orbits.
Murder
At the age of 45, he was murdered by Gabriel Brengues, the brother of his first wife, Jeanne Charlois and husband to the sister (Therese) of his second wife, Marie Brengues, over an inheritance by the death of Jeanne (née Brengues). The man was found guilty and given a life sentence of hard labor in
New Caledonia
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Memorial
The asteroid
1510 Charlois, discovered by
André Patry
André Patry (22 November 1902 – 20 June 1960) 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 o ...
at Nice Observatory in 1939, was named in his honour.
List of discovered minor planets
References
External links
Laureats of the Prix Jules Janssen(1897–1979)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlois, Auguste
1864 births
1910 deaths
19th-century French astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
French murder victims
Male murder victims
People murdered in France
20th-century French astronomers
1910 murders in France