Fernand Baldet (16 March 1885 – 8 November 1964) was a French astronomer. He worked with

Count Aymar de la Baume Pluvinel Count Aymar Eugène de la Baume Pluvinel (6 November 1860 – 18 July 1938) was a French astronomer and professor in the ''Grandes écoles SupOptique'' (''École supérieure d'optique''). He belonged to an old noble family, whose most famous desc ...

observing Mars from the newly built

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

on Pic du Midi in 1909. The resulting photographs, taken with the 0.5 metre (20 inch) reflecting Baillaud telescope, were so sharp that they were able to disprove Percival Lowell's claim of geometrical canals on the planet's surface. Baldet was the president of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society, from 1939 to 1945. In 1946, Baldet and Charles Maurain jointly received the

Prix Jules Janssen The Prix Jules Janssen is the highest award of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French astronomical society. This annual prize is given to a professional French astronomer or to an astronomer of another nationality in recognition ...

, the society's highest award. The

crater Crater may refer to: Landforms *Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet *Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...

Baldet on the Moon and the crater Baldet on Mars were named in his honour. Baldet was French pioneer of color photography working in Autochrome Lumière, Kodachrome and Agfacolor before the Second World War.Fernand Baldet http://www.baldet.fr

References

External links

History of the ''Baillaud telescope'' used by Baldet in 1909
1885 births 1964 deaths 20th-century French astronomers {{france-astronomer-stub