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-K� ...

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 ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

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