François Gonnessiat
French astronomer (1856–1934)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
François Gonnessiat (May 22, 1856 (Nurieux-Volognat)–October 18, 1934) was a French astronomer, observer of comets and discoverer of two minor planets.[1][2]
François Gonnessiat | |
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| Born | 22 May 1856 Nurieux-Volognat, France |
| Died | 18 October 1934 (aged 78) |
| Citizenship | France |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Thesis | Recherches sur l'équation personnelle dans les observations astronomiques de passages (1892) |
He worked at the Observatory of Lyon. In 1889 he won the Lalande Prize for astronomy from the French Academy of Sciences; 1901 became director of the Quito (Ecuador) Observatory for the purpose of making geodetic measurements. He became a well known and respected member of the academic scene of the city, where a street is named after him. From 1908 to 1931, he was director of the Algiers Observatory where one of his colleagues was Benjamin Jekhovsky.[2] He was also director of the Quito Astronomical Observatory.[1]
The asteroid 1177 Gonnessia was named in his memory (H 109).[1]
| 915 Cosette | December 14, 1918 |
| 931 Whittemora | March 19, 1920 |
