Frédéric Sy 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 ...

and a

discoverer of minor planets This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...

. He worked at the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...

from 1879 to 1887, and as the assistant astronomer at the

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 ...

, North Africa, from 1887 to 1918. While working in Algiers he published extensively on the subjects of minor asteroids and comets, and was a colleague of astronomer François Gonnessiat. Sy was responsible for the discovery and naming of two asteroids, 858 El Djezaïr and 859 Bouzaréah. The names were drawn from locations near the discovering Algiers Observatory. He was 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 ...

''(Prix Valz)'' in 1919 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 ...

. The asteroid 1714 Sy was named after him in 1951.

References

20th-century French astronomers Discoverers of asteroids * 19th-century French astronomers Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{france-astronomer-stub