Eugène Joseph Delporte (10 January 1882 – 19 October 1955) was a
Belgian astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
born in
Genappe.
He discovered a total of sixty-six
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
s. Notable discoveries include
1221 Amor (which lent its name to the
Amor asteroids) and the
Apollo asteroid 2101 Adonis.
[ He discovered or co-discovered some ]comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
s as well, including periodic comet 57P/du Toit-Neujmin-Delporte.[ He worked in the Observatoire Royal de Belgique (Belgian Royal Observatory), situated in the town of Uccle (after which the asteroid 1276 Ucclia is named).][ He started there in 1903 after receiving his doctorate that year from the Free University of Brussels.]
In 1930, he drew the modern boundaries between all of the constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The first constellati ...
s in the sky, along lines of right ascension
Right ascension (abbreviated RA; symbol ) is the angular distance of a particular point measured eastward along the celestial equator from the Sun at the equinox (celestial coordinates), March equinox to the (hour circle of the) point in questio ...
and declination
In astronomy, declination (abbreviated dec; symbol ''δ'') is one of the two angles that locate a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system, the other being hour angle. The declination angle is measured north (positive) or ...
for the epoch B1875.0.[
The Florian asteroid 1274 Delportia (discovered by himself) and the lunar impact crater '' Delporte'' were named after him.]
List of discovered minor planets
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delporte, Eugene
1882 births
1955 deaths
20th-century Belgian astronomers
Discoverers of asteroids
Discoverers of comets
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