Philibert Jacques Melotte facts for kids
Philibert Jacques Melotte was a British astronomer. He was born in 1880 and passed away in 1961. His parents had moved to Britain from Belgium. Melotte made important discoveries in space, like a moon of Jupiter and an asteroid. He also created a special list of star clusters.
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Who Was Philibert Jacques Melotte?
Philibert Jacques Melotte was a British astronomer. Astronomers are scientists who study stars, planets, and everything else in space. He was born on January 29, 1880, and died on March 30, 1961. His family had moved to Britain from Belgium.
Discovering Moons and Asteroids
In 1908, Melotte made an exciting discovery. He found a new moon orbiting the giant planet Jupiter. This moon was first called "Jupiter VIII." Later, in 1975, it was given the name Pasiphaë.
Melotte also discovered one asteroid. It is named 676 Melitta. This asteroid is found in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The name "Melitta" comes from an old Greek word for "bee." It sounds a lot like Melotte's own name, but this was not by chance!
The Melotte Catalogue of Star Clusters
Melotte is also known for his work with star clusters. A star cluster is a group of stars that are held together by gravity. In 1915, he created a special list called the Melotte catalogue. This list included many star clusters.
One famous star cluster in the Coma Berenices constellation is often called Mel 111. This name comes from Melotte's 1915 catalogue. For a long time, scientists were not sure if Mel 111 was a true cluster. But in 1938, another astronomer named R J Trumpler proved that it was.
Awards and Recognition
Philibert Jacques Melotte received an important award for his work. In 1909, he was given the Jackson-Gwilt Medal by the Royal Astronomical Society. This award recognized his valuable contributions to astronomy.
See also
- List of astronomical catalogues
- Collinder catalogue - a similar catalogue of open star clusters published by Per Collinder in 1931.
