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Posted by: Paolo Oct 4 2010, 09:43 PM

Audouin Dollfus, one of the most important European planetary astronomer of the 20th century died Friday aged 85
http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/cid53433/deces-de-audouin-dollfus-astronome-et-aeronaute-francais.html
he was one of the last great visual observers of the planets, discovered Saturn's satellite Janus and, by comparing their polarization of light predicted that Mercury would look similar to the Moon. In the 1950s moreover he made stratospheric balloon flights to observe the spectra of Mars and Venus in order to detect the signature of water.
In the 1960s and 1970s he cooperated with European space agencies on early studies of planetary mission (see my article http://utenti.lycos.it/paoloulivi/pub/esro.pdf) and had at least one instrument (a photopolarimeter) flown on Soviet Mars missions.

Posted by: Astro0 Oct 5 2010, 05:33 AM

That's sad. We are coming to that time when so many of the 20th century's great and influential people are coming to the end of their days.

On Sunday we lost Tom Reid (83). He started his space career at the Red Lake tracking facility in South Australia before being asked to take on the role of Director for the Orroral Valley Tracking Station and later Director at Honeysuckle Creek during the Apollo period and finally at the Canberra DSN where he was Director for 18 years. A sad loss to entire space tracking community.

A short tribute video http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/.

Posted by: nprev Oct 5 2010, 05:54 AM

Sad to hear of Dr. Dollfus' passing. IIRC, his sketches of Mercury from the Pic du Midi Observatory produced the best maps of the planet prior to Mariner 10; truly one of the greatest observational astronomers in history.

Posted by: climber Oct 5 2010, 11:51 AM

Very sad indeed, he was quite a figure. And, you know, I can see the Pic du Midi Observatory from my very place, a mere 70km away. So many famous Astronomers marked it's history, and specially Adouin Dolfus so, his passing means even more for me.
And you're right Astro0, sad times ahead in this regard.

Posted by: Phil Stooke Oct 5 2010, 12:24 PM

He also made the best maps of the Galilean Satellites before the Space Age, quite a pioneer.

Phil

Posted by: tedstryk Oct 5 2010, 11:29 PM

I have long been an admirer of his work, both telescopic and his polarimetry work on Mars-5. He will be missed.

Posted by: vikingmars Oct 30 2010, 11:33 AM

We miss him a lot. He was a good friend, had a profound sense of relationships, was very generous and helped a lot of people during is life, including myself for the launching of the Planetology section activities at Societe Astronomique de France (our National astronomical Society). He was a very, very talented astronomer, able to build his own science instruments, was oftenly visited by NASA people in his office at Meudon Observatory for his life-long experience of Martian climate and seasons, and was most revered in France as the last discoverer of a Saturnian satellite visually through a telescope (Janus). Among his most talented students I know well are : Serge Brunier (now Astrophotographer in extreme conditions), Gilles Dawidowicz (now Curator of the Triel Observatory near Paris) and Nathalie Cabrol (now at NASA-Ames, discoverer and promoter of the Gusev crater MER landing site)...