Henri Deslandres
Henri-Alexandre Deslandres , born with Paris the July 24th 1853 and died in Paris the January 15th 1948, is a Astronome French, which was director of the Observatoire of Meudon then of the Observatoire of Paris.
Biography
Its studies in license with the Polytechnic school are disturbed by the consequences of the Franco-German Guerre of 1870 and chaos related to the common of Paris. Graduate in 1874, it engages in a military career to answer the tensions caused by the emergent Germany. He reaches the rank of Capitaine in the genius, and, being interested more and more in the Physique, he resigns in 1881 to join the laboratory of Alfred Cornu at the Polytechnic school, where he works on the Spectroscopie. Its work on the spectroscopy continues with the Sorbonne, where it obtains its Doctorat in 1888, finding models digital with the spectral lines which supplement the work of Johann Balmer and catalyze the future development of the quantum Mécanique at the beginning of the 20th century.In 1868, the observations which Jules Jansen made Sun it had led to declare in front of the Academy of Science: “It is not any more the geometry and the mechanics which dominate from now on in astronomy but physics and chemistry. ” This assertion not being taste of Urbain the Glassmaker, director of the observatory of Paris of the time, the French government provides to Jansen the required funds with the creation of an observatory with Meudon, with the periphery of Paris, from which he would be the only astronomer. When Amédée Mouchez succeeded the Glassmaker with the head of the observatory, it decided to develop the Astrophysique by engaging Deslandres. Deslandres develops the Spectrohéliographe then at the same time as George Ellery Hale.
In 1898, it joined Jansen in Meudon, which results in to double the scientific manpower of the observatory. With died of Jansen in 1907, he becomes director and launches out about it in a program of expansion. When the First World War bursts in 1914, although 60 years old, it sets out again for the active service in the genius with the rank of Major and later Lieutenant-colonel. After the armistice of 1918, it turns over to its office of Meudon until in 1927, the bringing together of the observatories of directing Paris and Meudon indicating it of the two institutions until in 1929. In 1920, he is president of the Academy of Science, of which he had elected member in 1902.
Deslandres remains a very active astronomer until his death in 1948. It had envisaged to transfer all the astronomical instruments on the only site from Meudon, by leaving in Paris only the administrative part of the observatory, but this was never carried out.
With the length of his career, Henri Deslandres received:
- the Gold medal of Royal Astronomical Society in 1913
- the Henry Medal To drape in 1913
- the Medal Bruce in 1921.
A crater on the the Moon bears its name, as well as the Astéroïde 11763 Deslandres and the Prix Deslandres of the Academy of Science.