François Mignard (born the 23th of July 1949) is a French

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 ...

and the former director of the

CERGA Observatory The CERGA Observatory (, ; obs. code: 010) was a scientific department and astronomical station of the Côte d'Azur Observatory in southern France, where several asteroids were discovered during 1984–1993. Description CERGA included 28 rese ...

() of the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur in southern France. He is an expert in space

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

and

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

dynamics, and played major roles in the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

Hipparcos ''Hipparcos'' was a scientific satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 1989 and operated until 1993. It was the first space experiment devoted to precision astrometry, the accurate measurement of the positions and distances of ...

and ''

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

'' missions.

Training and Career

After is study's at the Normal Superior School (French: l'École Normale Supérieur) and at the University of Paris, François Mignard joined the CERGA in 1974, then integrated the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

as an associate professor in 1975. The same year, he defended his post-graduate thesis on the movement of a satellite with high eccentricity. Mignard is an active member in several commissions of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

and chairman of its working group that amends the standards for the

International Celestial Reference System The International Celestial Reference System (ICRS) is the current standard celestial reference system adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Its origin is at the barycenter of the Solar System, with axes that are intended to "sho ...

Major contributions

François Mignard played a central role in the missions of space

Astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

of the

especially

and

missions. For the

mission, launched in 2013, he was responsible of the European Data Processing and Analysis Consortium from 2006 to 2012 and is currently a member of

Science Team of ESA, has the main researcher for the french participation.

Awards and affiliations

In 2019, he was awarded by the

Académie des Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

the

Centre National d'Études Spatiales CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...

(CNES) award in astrophysics and space science

He also chaired at the

Bureau des longitudes __NOTOC__ The ''Bureau des Longitudes'' () is a French scientific institution, founded by decree of 25 June 1795 and charged with the improvement of nautical navigation, standardisation of time-keeping, geodesy and astronomical observation. Durin ...

from 2020 to 2023 and is a member of the

Académie de l'air et de l'espace An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

and was elected member of the

in December 2023.

Honors

Asteroid 12898 Mignard, discovered by astronomers with the

LONEOS Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) was a project designed to discover asteroids and comets that orbit near the Earth. The project, funded by NASA, was directed by astronomer Ted Bowell of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz ...

program in 1998, was named in his honor. The official was published by 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. Funct ...

on 24 July 2002 ().

References

External links

François Mignard
active member of the International Astronomical Union {{DEFAULTSORT:Mignard, Francois 1949 births 20th-century French astronomers Living people 21st-century French astronomers