A. Laurent
A. Laurent was a
Frenchman who discovered the
asteroid 51 Nemausa in
1858.
He never made any more asteroid discoveries and not much more seems to be known about him. He was described as a "very skillful young man" (
un jeune homme très habile) by
Edouard Stephan [
1].
The asteroid was discovered using the private observatory at the house formerly occupied by
Benjamin Valz, who left to become the new director of the
Marseille Observatory. He entrusted his former observatory to A. Laurent, who later found the asteroid. The house, at 32 rue Nationale in
Nîmes, has a plaque commemorating the discovery [
2].
Valz reported the find in a letter to the
Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Sciences [
3] [
4]. A. Laurent was awarded a
Prix d'astronomie medal of the
Fondation Lalande for the year
1858 for his discovery, along with other asteroid and comet discoverers [
5] [
6] [
7][
8].In addition, asteroid
162 Laurentia was named in his honour.
*
Nemausa, Laurent and Valz (in French)
{{Persondata
NAME=Laurent, A. | ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | SHORT DESCRIPTION=Asteroid discoverer | DATE OF BIRTH= | PLACE OF BIRTH= | DATE OF DEATH= | PLACE OF DEATH=
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