Michel Giacobini
Encyclopedia
Michel Giacobini was a French
astronomer
.
He discovered a number of comet
s, including 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
(parent body of the Giacobinids meteor shower
), 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak
, and 205P/Giacobini. The latter he had discovered at Nice
on September 4, 1896, but it was not seen on its return, a little less than 7 years later, and was considered a lost comet
and consequently designated D/1896 R2. On September 10, 2008, amateur supernova
hunters Koichi Itagaki and Hiroshi Kaneda
rediscovered it, on its seventeenth return.
He won the Lalande Prize
in 1900 and worked at the Nice Observatory
until 1910, when he requested a transfer to the Paris Observatory
. He volunteered for military service in World War I
and suffered the effects of poison gas. He recovered and resumed his astronomical activities after the war.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
He discovered a number of comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s, including 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
21P/Giacobini-Zinner
Comet Giacobini–Zinner is a periodic comet in our solar system.It was discovered by Michel Giacobini from , who observed the comet in the constellation of Aquarius on December 20, 1900...
(parent body of the Giacobinids meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
), 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak
41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak
41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresák is a periodic comet in our solar system.Discovered by Horace Parnell Tuttle on May 3, 1858, and re-discovered independently by Michel Giacobini and Ľubor Kresák in 1907 and 1951 respectively, it is a member of the Jupiter family of comets.- 2006 Apparition :As of June 1,...
, and 205P/Giacobini. The latter he had discovered at Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
on September 4, 1896, but it was not seen on its return, a little less than 7 years later, and was considered a lost comet
Lost comet
A lost comet is a previously discovered comet that has been missed at its most recent perihelion passage, generally because there is not enough data to reliably calculate the comet's orbit and predict its location....
and consequently designated D/1896 R2. On September 10, 2008, amateur supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
hunters Koichi Itagaki and Hiroshi Kaneda
Hiroshi Kaneda
is a Japanese astronomer. He is the eighth most prolific individual discoverer of asteroids. Between 1987 and 2000, Kaneda discovered 705 asteroids. Asteroid 4677 Hiroshi, discovered in 1990, is named after him. Along with being an astronomer, Kaneda has worked as a computer programmer who "has...
rediscovered it, on its seventeenth return.
He won the Lalande Prize
Lalande Prize
The Lalande Prize was an award for scientific advances in astronomy, given from 1802 through 1970 by the French Academy of Sciences.The prize was named for, and endowed by, astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1801...
in 1900 and worked at the Nice Observatory
Nice Observatory
The Observatoire de Nice is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mont Gros. The observatory was initiated in 1879 by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim...
until 1910, when he requested a transfer to the Paris Observatory
Paris Observatory
The Paris Observatory is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world...
. He volunteered for military service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and suffered the effects of poison gas. He recovered and resumed his astronomical activities after the war.