Josep Comas i Solà

Josep Comas i Solà (Catalan pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛp ˈkoməz i suˈla]; 17 December 1868 – 2 December 1937) was a Catalan astronomer and discoverer of minor planets, comets and double stars, born of Catalan origin in Barcelona.[2][3][4][5]

Josep Comas i Solà
Asteroids discovered: 11 [1]
804 HispaniaMarch 20, 1915
925 AlphonsinaJanuary 13, 1920
945 BarcelonaFebruary 3, 1921
986 AmeliaOctober 19, 1922
1102 PepitaNovember 5, 1928
1117 ReginitaMay 24, 1927
1136 MercedesOctober 30, 1929
1188 GothlandiaSeptember 30, 1930
1626 SadeyaJanuary 10, 1927
1655 Comas SolàNovember 28, 1929
1708 PólitDecember 1, 1929

He wrote his first astronomy notes at 10, and was only fifteen when he published an article in a French specialist magazine.[6]

He observed planets including Mars and Saturn, measuring the rotation period of the latter. He wrote some books popularizing astronomy, and was first president of the Sociedad Astrónomica de España y América. He discovered the periodic comet 32P/Comas Solà, and co-discovered the non-periodic comet C/1925 F1 (Shajn-Comas Solà); he is also credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 11 asteroids during 1915–1930.[1] Comas i Solà is also credited with the discovery of the double star SOL 1.[7]

In 1905, Solà received the Prix Jules Janssen, the highest award of the Société astronomique de France, the French astronomical society. In 1907 he claimed to observe limb darkening of Saturn's moon Titan, the first evidence that the body had an atmosphere.[8] He was the head of Fabra Observatory since it was established in 1904.

The asteroids 1102 Pepita (from his nickname Pepito)[9] and 1655 Comas Solà are named after him,[10] as is Comas Sola crater on Mars.[11]

References
  1. "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  2. Cassini at Saturn: Huygens results, p. 31, p. 61
  3. Titan, p. xiv
  4. Titan from Cassini–Huygens, p. 9
  5. The Cassini–Huygens mission: overview, objectives, and Huygens istrumentarium, p. 419
  6. Baedeker's Barcelona Peter M. Nahm, Automobile Association (Great Britain) - 1992 "Josep Comas i Solà (1868–1937) Born in Barcelona, Josep Comas i Sola soon made his mark as an astronomer; he was only fifteen when he published an article in a French specialist magazine. "
  7. "El Observador de Estrellas Dobles n.10" (PDF). 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  8. Tilman Spohn (2014). Encyclopedia of the Solar System. Elsevier. p. 831. ISBN 9780124158450. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1102) Pepita". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1102) Pepita. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 94. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1103. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  10. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1655) Comas Solá". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1655) Comas Solá. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 131–132. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1656. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  11. de Vaucouleurs, G.; et al. (September 1975). "The new Martian nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union". Icarus. 26 (1): 85–98. Bibcode:1975Icar...26...85D. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(75)90146-3.
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