Jean-Dominique Maraldi

Giovanni Domenico () Maraldi (17 April 1709 – 14 November 1788) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-born

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 ...

, nephew of

Giacomo F. Maraldi Giacomo Filippo Maraldi (21 August 1665 – 1 December 1729) was a French-Italian astronomer and mathematician. His name is also given as Jacques Philippe Maraldi. Born in Perinaldo (modern Liguria) he was the nephew of Giovanni Cassini, and w ...

. Born at

Perinaldo Perinaldo ( lij, Preinoud) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italy, Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia (city), Imperia. It is the birthplace of the 17th-century Itali ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

, Maraldi came to Paris in 1727 and became a member of 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 1731. There, while observing Comet De Chéseaux with

Jacques Cassini Jacques Cassini (18 February 1677 – 16 April 1756) was a French astronomer, son of the famous Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini. Cassini was born at the Paris Observatory. Admitted at the age of seventeen to membership of the French ...

in 1746, he discovered two "nebulous stars", which later turned out to be

globular cluster A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of membe ...

M15 M15 or M-15 may refer to: In science * Messier 15 (M15), a globular cluster in the constellation Pegasus In firearms and military equipment * M15 mine, a United States anti-tank mine * M15 rifle, a variant of the M14, a United States military rif ...

and M2. Maraldi retired to

Perinaldo, Italy Perinaldo ( lij, Preinoud) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia. It is the birthplace of the 17th-century Italian naturalised French a ...

in 1772. He was posthumously honored, along with his uncle, by the naming of

lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wor ...

Maraldi in 1935. 1709 births 1788 deaths People from the Province of Imperia 18th-century French astronomers 18th-century Italian astronomers Members of the French Academy of Sciences {{france-astronomer-stub