Pierre-Gilles-Antoine-Honoré Flaugergues, usually known as Honoré Flaugergues (16 May 1755 in

Viviers, Ardèche Viviers (, also Viviers-sur-Rhône; ) is a village in the department of Ardèche in southern France. It is known for its medieval cathedral and views over the Rhone river. Population History The village's name is derived from the Latin '' Vi ...

– 26 November 1835 or 20 November 1830different sources give different years of death) 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 ...

Biography

Flaugergues was born in Viviers, the son of

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

Antoine-Dominique Flaugergues, whose family originated from

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Géva ...

. His mother was Jean-Marie-Louise de Ratte, of a family of

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

gentry and the sister of mathematician and astronomer Étienne-Hyacinthe de Ratte. He first gained an interest in astronomy at the age of eight through reading Alain Manesson Mallet's ''Description de l'Univers''.Xaver, Franz ''Correspondance astronomique, géographique, hydrographique et statistique'', 1820, p. 54 Under his father's guidance he showed early promise as a scientist,Pierre-Gilles-Antoine-Honoré Flaugergues
University of Texas though he was never to study formally or attend university. Although he published papers on a wide variety of subjects, it is as an amateur astronomer that he is best known. He was a longstanding friend and correspondent of

Franz Xaver, Baron von Zach Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was an Austrian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary). Biography Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and ...

and Jerome Lalande. Though he was offered the post of director of the

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

observatory in 1797, he refused it, preferring to stay in Viviers where he had become a Justice of the Peace and where he had a private observatory. In 1810 he was offered the directorship of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

observatory: he again refused. Politically, Flaugergues was a supporter of the French Revolution, holding a number of local administrative posts in the 1790s in addition to serving as a magistrate. He was a member of the ''

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

'' and both the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

. His work eventually came to the notice of the government, who awarded him the ''

Legion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

'' and tried to induce him to come to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, but he again refused to leave the Ardeche, saying that Paris would "never give imthe beautiful sky of Viviers".''Dictionnaire de la conversation et de la lecture : Répertoire des connaissances usuelles'', v. 61, 1847, p. 167

Scientific work

He discovered the "Great Comet of 1811" (

C/1811 F1 The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brighte ...

), and independently co-discovered the "Great Comet of 1807" (

C/1807 R1 C/1807 R1, also known as the Great Comet of 1807, is a long-period comet. It was visible to naked-eye observers in the northern hemisphere from early September 1807 to late December, and is ranked among the great comets due to its exceptional br ...

). In attempting to measure the rotation period of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, he noted inconsistencies in timing of yellow-colored features and concluded he was seeing atmospheric features rather than surface features. Therefore, some credit him with the discovery of dust clouds on Mars, however this is in dispute since his telescope was probably too small to accomplish this. In addition to

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, he was active in

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, studying the maladies suffered by workers in the

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

industry and organizing archaeological excavation at

Alba-la-Romaine Alba-la-Romaine (; ) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southern France. Geography Alba-la-Romaine is located some 5 km west of Montélimar, Drôme on a mountain ridge overlooking the Rhône riv ...

. A

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

on Mars is named after him.

References

External links

Short biography

Flaugergues's manuscripts
on Paris Observatory digital library {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaugergues, Honore 1755 births 1835 deaths People from Viviers, Ardèche 18th-century French archaeologists 19th-century French astronomers 18th-century French astronomers Discoverers of comets 19th-century French archaeologists