Jean-Louis Pons (December 24, 1761 –
October 14, 1831) was a French
astronomer.
Between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven
comets, more than any other person in history.
He discovered four periodic comets, only two of which bear his name today. One of them (observed on November 26, 1818) was named Comet Encke
after Johann Franz Encke, who calculated its orbit and determined its remarkably
short period. Pons was also a co-discoverer of the comet formerly known as "Pons-Coggia-Winnecke-Forbes" and today known as
27P/Crommelin after Andrew
Crommelin, who calculated its orbit. 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.
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