Paul-Pierre Henry (Paul Henry) (21 August 1848 – 4 January 1905) and his brother Prosper-Mathieu Henry (Prosper Henry) (10 December 1849 – 25 July 1903) were

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

opticians and

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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

s. They made refracting

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

s and instruments for observatories, and were involved in the origin of the ''

Carte du Ciel The Carte du Ciel (literally, 'Map of the Sky') and the Astrographic Catalogue (or Astrographic Chart) were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue an ...

'' project. Between the two of them, they discovered a total of 14

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. The

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...

credits their discoveries under "P. P. Henry" and "P. M. Henry", respectively. The lunar crater Henry Frères (Henry brothers) and the Martian crater ''

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

'' are named after them. They were jointly awarded the first

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 ...

in 1877 for their sky charts designed to facilitate the search for

minor planets According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...

List of discovered minor planets

Obituaries

Paul Henry

AN 167 (1905) 223/224

(one paragraph)

Prosper Henry

(one paragraph)

References

Optical engineers 19th-century French astronomers Discoverers of asteroids Sibling duos Recipients of the Lalande Prize French scientific instrument makers {{France-astronomer-stub