Prompted by several Wikipedia and other articles which claim that Jean-Louis Pons discovered 37 comets I set out to settle this question.
Of course, it depends heavily on the definition of the term DISCOVERY, and even today it is a kind of debate
when an independent discovery is still a genuine discovery.
The number of 37 comet discoveries for Jean-Louis Pons comes from the 1960 paper by Elizabeth Roemer
which says he discovered "at least 37 comets" but without giving a list.
The following list gives his
No. | Designation | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
C/1801 N1 (Pons) |
genuine |
first comet of the 19th century |
2 |
C/1802 Q1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
3 |
C/1804 E1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
4 |
2P/1805 U1 (Encke) |
genuine |
later named after J. F. Encke, who noted the periodicity and linked several apparitions |
5 |
3D/1805 V1 (Biela) |
genuine |
first seen in 1772, later named after W. von Biela, who discovered it in 1826 and noted the periodicity and linked the apparitions |
6 |
C/1806 V1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
7 |
26P/1808 C1 (Grigg-Skjellerup) |
genuine |
discovered in 1902 by J. Grigg and 1922 by J. F. Skjellerup, linked to Pons' comet in 1987 by L. Kresak |
8 |
C/1808 F1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
9 |
C/1808 M1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
10 |
C/1808 R1 (Pons) |
genuine |
confirmed in 2023 by G. W. Kronk and M. Meyer, see "catalog of Unconfirmed Comets - V1 and CBET 5258 |
11 |
C/1810 Q1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
12 |
C/1811 W1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
13 |
12P/1812 O1 (Pons-Brooks) |
genuine |
|
14 |
C/1813 C1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
15 |
C/1813 G1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
16 |
C/1816 B1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
17 |
C/1817 Y1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
18 |
27P/1818 D1 (Crommelin) |
genuine |
formerly also known as Pons-Coggia-Winnecke-Forbes, later named after A. C. D. Crommelin, who linked the apparitions |
19 |
2P/1818 W1 (Encke) |
genuine |
see No. 4, second discovery (so formally rather a recovery) of this comet by Pons |
20 |
C/1818 W2 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
21 |
7P/1819 L1 (Pons-Winnecke) |
genuine |
|
22 |
C/1821 B1 (Nicollet-Pons) |
genuine |
|
23 |
C/1822 K1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
24 |
C/1822 N1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
25 |
C/1825 N1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
26 |
C/1825 P1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
27 |
C/1825 V1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
28 |
C/1826 P1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
29 |
C/1826 U1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
30 |
C/1826 Y1 (Pons) |
genuine |
|
31 |
273P/1827 M1 (Pons-Gambart) |
genuine |
|
32 |
C/1827 P1 (Pons) |
genuine |
No. | Designation | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
X1 |
C/1807 R1 (Great Comet) |
independent |
first known report of 1807 September 9 by C. Giovanni, Sicily, Italy, Pons found it on September 21 |
X2 |
X/1808 N1 |
unconfirmed |
seen only on 1808 July 4 and 6 |
X3 |
C/1811 F1 (Great Comet) |
independent |
discovered on 1811 March 25 by H. Flaugergues, Viviers, France, independently found by Pons on April 11 |
X4 |
289P/1819 W1 (Blanpain) |
independent |
discovered on 1819 November 28 by J. J. Blanpain, Marseille, France, independently found by Pons on December 5 |
X5 |
C/1822 J1 (Gambart) |
independent |
discovered on 1822 May 12, by J. F. A Gambart, Marseille, France, idenpendently found by Pons on May 14 |
X6 |
C/1823 Y1 (Great Comet) |
independent |
discovered on 1823 December 29, by N. de Breaute, Dieppe, France, independently found by Pons on December 30 |
X7 |
C/1824 O1 (Scheithauer) |
independent |
discovered on 1824 July 23, by C. F. Scheithauer, Chemnitz, Germany, independently found by Pons on July 24 |
Last update: September 07, 2024
Catalogue of Comet Discoveries
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