Jean Louis Pons Discovers His First Comet

By Princessa

French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons discovered or co-discovered thirty-seven comets in his lifetime. In 1789, he took a concierge position at the Observatory at Marseilles and quickly learned how to make observations with the instruments. He logged his first discovery of a comet on July 11, 1801, and discovered at least one comet every year afterward, until 1827 when he began to lose his eyesight. Jean-Louis Pons holds the record for the most visually discovered comets by any individual.

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