Jean-Louis Pons
Jean Louis Pons (December 24, 1761 - October 14, 1831) was a French astronomer.
Between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven comets, one of which (observed on November 26, 1818) was named 2P/Encke after Johann Franz Encke, who determined its remarkably short period. The periodic comets that bear his name are 7P/Pons-Winnecke and 12P/Pons-Brooks.
Pons was born at Peyre (Hautes-Alpes). He entered the Marseille observatory in 1789, and in 1819 became the director of the new observatory at Marlia near Lucca, which he left in 1825 for the observatory of the museum at Florence.
Pons received the Lalande Prize in 1818, awarded by the French Academy of Sciences, for his discovery of three comets in that year.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
