Guy Reiss (1904–1964) was 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 discoverer of five

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, who worked at the

Algiers Observatory The Algiers Observatory was built in the late 19th century in the Algiers suburb of Bouzaréah, Algeria, North Africa. It participated in the Astrographic Catalogue project, taking the zone between -2 and +4 degrees to expose 1,260 plates betwe ...

in Algiers, North Africa, during the 1930s and later at the

Nice Observatory The Nice Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mount Gros. The observatory was founded in 1879, by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim. The architect was Charles Garnier (architect), Charles Garnier, ...

in southeastern France. Among his discoveries made between 1931 and 1935 at Algiers, he named the minor planets 1237 Geneviève, 1300 Marcelle and

1376 Michelle 1376 Michelle, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 October 1935, by French astronomer Guy Reiss at the North African ...

after his three daughters. His first discovery, 1213 Algeria, was named in honour of the North African country, location of the discovering observatory, and a French colony at the time. The asteroid

1299 Mertona 1299 Mertona (Minor planet provisional designation, ''prov. designation'': ) is a bright background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 18 January 1934, by French astronomer Guy Reiss at Algiers Observator ...

was named after English astronomer Gerald Merton, who became president of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborat ...

in the 1950s. In 1935, he received the Damoiseau-Prize together with

André Patry André Patry (22 November 1902 – 20 June 1960) was a French astronomer and discoverer of 9 minor planets in the late 1930s. Patry was orphaned at a young age, and began working as a 17-year-old at the Nice Observatory in southeastern France. H ...

from the

French Academy of 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 ...

for the whole of their work. The minor planet 1577 Reiss, discovered by his college astronomer Louis Boyer at Algiers Observatory in the 1940s, was named in his honour.

References

External links

L'Astronomie
— Guy Reiss 1904 births 1964 deaths 20th-century French astronomers Discoverers of asteroids {{France-astronomer-stub