Valz Prize
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The Valz Prize ''(Prix Valz)'' was awarded 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 ...
, 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 Julie Malhian, donated 10,000 francs to establish a prize in honor of her late husband. The Valz Prize was to be awarded for work of similar stature as that honored by the pre-existing Lalande Prize. The first Valz Prize was awarded in 1877 to brothers Paul and Prosper Henry, and was for the sum of 460 francs. Save for 1924, the French Academy of Sciences awarded the Valz Prize annually from 1877 to 1943. After 1943, the prize was awarded only sporadically (only once per decade from 1950 to 1970). In 1970 the Valz Prize was combined with the Lalande Prize to create the Lalande-Valz Prize, which continued to be awarded through 1996. In 1997, that prize was combined with numerous other Academy prizes to create the Grande Médaille.


List of Valz Prize winners

* 1877 – Paul Henry and Prosper Henry (joint award) – Charts to facilitate search for minor planets * 1878 – Julius SchmidtSelenographic work * 1879 – Étienne Trouvelot – Work on Jupiter,
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
, and Mars * 1880 –
Wilhelm Tempel Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (4 December 1821 – 16 March 1889), normally known as Wilhelm Tempel, was a German astronomer who worked in Marseille until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, then later moved to Italy. Tempel was b ...
– Discovery of twenty comets * 1881 – David Gill – Work on the determination of the
parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
of the Sun * 1882 – William Huggins – Applications of photography to the study of the spectra of celestial bodies * 1882 – Luiz Cruls – Spectral studies of the Great Comet of 1882 * 1883 –
Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne (1 ...
– Discoveries of
nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
e * 1884 –
Friedrich Karl Ginzel Friedrich Karl Ginzel (26 February 1850 – 29 June 1926) was an Austrian astronomer. From 1877 Ginzel worked at the observatory in Vienna. In 1886, he became a member of the Königlichen Astronomischen Recheninstituts in Berlin, where he was of ...
– Work on the eclipses of the Sun * 1885 – Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Spörer – Work on
sunspots Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. ...
* 1886 – Camille Guillaume Bigourdan – Research on the problem of personal error * 1887 – Ernest Perigaud – Investigation of the
meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...
instruments of 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 ...
* 1888 – Edward Charles Pickering – Photometric work on
stellar magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ...
* 1889 – Auguste Charlois – Astronomical work on orbits of seven asteroids * 1890 – S. de Glasenapp – Study on the
double star In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
s appearing in the Pulkovo Catalog * 1891 –
Hermann Carl Vogel Hermann Carl Vogel (; ; 3 April 1841 – 13 August 1907) was a German astrophysicist. He was born in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony. From 1882 to 1907 he was director of the Astrophysical Observatory, Potsdam. He made extensive discoveries ...
– Research in
spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...
* 1892 –
Pierre Puiseux Pierre Henri Puiseux (; 20 July 1855 – 28 September 1928) was a French astronomer. Born in Paris, son of Victor Puiseux, he was educated at the École Normale Supérieure before starting work as an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in ...
– Entirety of his work, including that on the
constant of aberration In astronomy, aberration (also referred to as astronomical aberration, stellar aberration, or velocity aberration) is a phenomenon which produces an apparent motion of celestial objects about their true positions, dependent on the velocity of ...
* 1893 –
Adolf Berberich Adolf Joseph Berberich (16 November 1861 – 27 April 1920) was a German astronomer best known for his work on calculating the orbits of minor planets and double stars. The minor planet 776 Berbericia was named in his honour. Early life Adol ...
– Calculations of orbits of double stars, comets, and
planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...
* 1894 – Jean Coniel – Calculations of asteroid orbits * 1895 – William Frederick Denning – Work on meteors and discoveries of comets * 1896 –
Joseph Bossert Joseph François Bossert (30 November 1851 – 21 June 1906) was a French astronomer. Bossert began study at age fifteen at the Paris Observatory. He calculated the orbits of asteroids and comets. He was the main author of three star catalogues: ...
– Catalog of 3,950 stars * 1897 – Louis Fabry – Research on orbits of comets * 1898 – Élie Colin – Research on astronomy and
geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
, especially latitude * 1899 – Magnus Nyrén – Sidereal astronomy and observations on the meridian * 1900 – Aloys Verschaffel – Meridian observations and catalog * 1901 – Charles André – Treatise o
''Traite d'Astronomie Stellaire''
ref name=English1902>
* 1902 –
Ernst Hartwig Carl Ernst Albrecht Hartwig (14 January 1851 in Frankfurt – 3 May 1923 in Bamberg) was a German astronomer. On 20 August 1885, Hartwig discovered a new star, SN 1885A (S Andromedae), in the Andromeda Galaxy, which was the first supernov ...
Heliometer observations and work on variable stars * 1903 –
Alphonse Borrelly Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borrelly (December 8, 1842 – February 28, 1926) was a French astronomer. He joined the Marseille Observatory in 1864. In the course of his career, he discovered a number of asteroids and comets, including the periodic c ...
– Discoveries of comets * 1904 – Campos Rodrigues – Determination of
solar parallax Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
by means of the asteroid Eros * 1905 – Michel Giacobini – discovery of ten comets * 1906 –
Johann Palisa Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gel ...
– Entirety of his astronomical research * 1907 – Michel Giacobini – Astronomical work * 1908 – Michel Luizet – Work on variable stars * 1909 –
Aymar de la Baume Pluvinel Count Aymar Eugène de la Baume Pluvinel (6 November 1860 – 18 July 1938) was a French astronomer and professor in the ''Grandes écoles SupOptique'' (''École supérieure d'optique''). He belonged to an old noble family, whose most famous desc ...
– Entirety of his astronomical work * 1910 –
Stéphane Javelle Stéphane Javelle (Lyon, 16 November 1864 – 3 August 1917) was a French astronomer. Since 1888 he worked assisting Henri Perrotin at the Nice Observatory, and observed 1431 objects published in the Index Catalogue. He initially worked as an ac ...
– Works on nebulae and comets * 1911 – Charlemagne Rambaud – Astronomical work * 1912 –
Alexandre Schaumasse Alexandre Schaumasse (1882–1958) was a French astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets. His discoveries include the periodic comet 24P/Schaumasse, and the two non-periodic comets C/1913 J1 (Schaumasse) or 1913 II, and C/1917 H1 (S ...
– Comet discoveries * 1913 – Alfred Fowler – Work on the
principal series Principal series may refer to: * Principal series (spectroscopy) In atomic emission spectroscopy, the principal series is a series of spectral lines caused when electrons move between p orbitals of an atom and the lowest available s orbital. These ...
of
hydrogen lines The emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen has been divided into a number of spectral series, with wavelengths given by the Rydberg formula. These observed spectral lines are due to the electron making transitions between two energy levels in an ...
* 1914 – Pierre Salet – Research on
polarization Polarization or polarisation may refer to: Mathematics *Polarization of an Abelian variety, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by ...
phenomena * 1914 – Stanislas Chevalier – Research on the Sun * 1915 – Armand Lambert – Work as an observer and in applied mathematics * 1916 – Giovanni Boccardi – Research on variation of latitude; discovery of a sensible inequality in the semi-lunar period * 1917 –
Alexandre Schaumasse Alexandre Schaumasse (1882–1958) was a French astronomer and discoverer of comets and minor planets. His discoveries include the periodic comet 24P/Schaumasse, and the two non-periodic comets C/1913 J1 (Schaumasse) or 1913 II, and C/1917 H1 (S ...
– Discovery of comet 1917b (C/1917 H1) * 1918 –
Frédéric Sy Frédéric Sy was a French astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. He worked at the Paris Observatory from 1879 to 1887, and as the assistant astronomer at the Algiers Observatory, North Africa, from 1887 to 1918. While working in Algier ...
– Entirety of his astronomical work * 1919 – Felix Boquet – Entirety of his scientific work * 1920 – Ernest Maubant – Calculation of
perturbations Perturbation or perturb may refer to: * Perturbation theory, mathematical methods that give approximate solutions to problems that cannot be solved exactly * Perturbation (geology), changes in the nature of alluvial deposits over time * Perturbatio ...
of Tempel-Swift Comet * 1921 – Jean Trousset – Research on double stars, the errors of divided circles, and studies of Jupiter's moon, Pasiphae * 1922 – Jean François Chazy – Papers on the three-body problem * 1923 – Walter Sydney Adams – Work on Solar and stellar spectroscopy * 1924 – no award * 1925 – Vojislav Michkovitch (or Vojislav Mišković) – Work on Stellar statistics * 1926 – Frank Schlesinger – Astronomical work, especially for work on the
stellar parallax Stellar parallax is the apparent shift of position of any nearby star (or other object) against the background of distant objects, and a basis for determining (through trigonometry) the distance of the object. Created by the different orbital p ...
* 1927 – Lucien d'Azambuja – Work on sunspots,
solar flares A solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and other solar phe ...
, and the solar chromosphere * 1928 –
George Van Biesbroeck George A. Van Biesbroeck (or Georges-Achille Van Biesbroeck, , January 21, 1880 – February 23, 1974) was a Belgian–American astronomer. He worked at observatories in Belgium, Germany and the United States. He specialized in the observation o ...
– Entirety of his astronomical work * 1929 – Louis Dominique Joseph Armand Dunoyer de Segonzac – Research on spirit levels and on
photoelectric cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.
* 1930 – Gilbert Rougier – Work on photoelectric cells * 1931 –
Henri Chretien Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...
– Invention of the anamorphic lens * 1932 –
Jean Dufay Jean Claude Barthélemy Dufay (July 18, 1896–November 6, 1967) was a French astronomer. During his career he studied nebulae, interstellar matter, the night sky and cometary physics. In 1925, while working in collaboration with Jean Cabannes ...
– Work on astronomical photometry * 1933 – Henri Labrouste – Research into periodic solar phenomena * 1934 – Ferdinand Quenisset – Observations on comets * 1935 – Raymond Tremblot – For the entirety of his astronomical work * 1936 –
André Couder André Couder (27 November 1897 – 16 January 1979) was a French optician and astronomer. Information From 1925, he worked in the optics laboratory of the Paris Observatory. Between 1952 and 1958 he was vice-president of the International Astro ...
– Work on optical instruments * 1937 – Maurice Burgaud – Work in Shanghai,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on terrestrial magnetism * 1938 – Pierre Lacroute – Work in physical astronomy * 1938 – Rene Bernard – Work in "the light of the night sky" * 1940 – Jeanne Clavier – Work on a photographic map of the heavens * 1941 – Junior Gauzit – Research in physical astronomy * 1942 – Jean Rösch – Work in physical astronomy * 1943 – Rose Sainturier (née Rose Bonnet) – Work on double stars * 1944-1945 – Not awarded * 1946 – Raoul Goudey – Work on gravity * 1947-1948 – Not awarded * 1949 – Jean Delhaye – Work in stellar statistics * 1950-1958 – Not awarded * 1959 – Fernan Nahon – Work on stellar statistics and dynamics * 1960-1968 – Not awardedNo documentation can be found for 1966 and 1967. * 1969 – André Baranne – Work on optical astronomy * 1970 – Not awarded


Notes


See also

* List of astronomy awards


References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Awards of the French Academy of Sciences Astronomy prizes 1874 establishments in France Awards established in 1874