Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borrelly (December 8, 1842 – February 28, 1926) 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 ...
.
He joined the
Marseille Observatory
Marseille Observatory (french: Observatoire de Marseille) is an astronomical observatory located in Marseille, France, with a history that goes back to the early 18th century. In its 1877 incarnation, it was the discovery site of a group of gal ...
in 1864. In the course of his career, he discovered a number of
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 and
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
s, including the periodic comet
19P/Borrelly
Comet Borrelly or Borrelly's Comet (official designation: 19P/Borrelly) is a periodic comet, which was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001. The comet last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on February 1, 2022 and will ...
.
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 ...
awarded him the
Prix Valz for 1903 and the
Prix Lalande for 1909.
The
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.
...
1539 Borrelly
__NOTOC__
Year 1539 ( MDXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January – Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War – Battle of Naungyo, Burm ...
was named in his honor.
In 1913, he received the
Prix Jules Janssen
The Prix Jules Janssen is the highest award of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society.
This annual prize is given to a professional French astronomer or to an astronomer of another nationality in recognition ...
, the highest award of the
Société astronomique de France
The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law (Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its purpose ...
, the French astronomical society.
Comets discovered or co-discovered
The following is an incomplete list of comets discovered or co-discovered by Borrelly:
* C/1873 Q1 (Borrelly)
* C/1877 C1 (Borrelly)
[
* C/1877 G2 (Swift-Borrelly-Block)][
* C/1889 X1 (Borrelly)][
* ]19P/Borrelly
Comet Borrelly or Borrelly's Comet (official designation: 19P/Borrelly) is a periodic comet, which was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001. The comet last came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on February 1, 2022 and will ...
* C/1909 L1 (Borrelly-Daniel)
References
External links
* ''Obituary''
1842 births
1926 deaths
19th-century French astronomers
20th-century French astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
Recipients of the Lalande Prize
{{france-astronomer-stub