Jean-Pierre Verdet (born 1932) is a French

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

historian of astronomy The history of astronomy focuses on the contributions civilizations have made to further their understanding of the universe beyond earth's atmosphere. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences, achieving a high level of success in the sec ...

and

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Biography

Jean-Pierre Verdet is a

Bachelor of Mathematics A Bachelor of Mathematics (abbreviated B.Math, BMath, or BMaths) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for successfully completing a program of study in mathematics or related disciplines, such as applied mathematics, actuarial science, comp ...

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

Paris Diderot University Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7 (), was a French university located in Paris, France. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 1970. Paris Diderot merged with Pari ...

(1975). In 1963, he entered the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

, where, after studying the

solar corona In astronomy, a corona (: coronas or coronae) is the outermost layer of a star's Stellar atmosphere, atmosphere. It is a hot but relatively luminosity, dim region of Plasma (physics), plasma populated by intermittent coronal structures such as so ...

, he inaugurated

infrared astronomy Infrared astronomy is a sub-discipline of astronomy which specializes in the astronomical observation, observation and analysis of astronomical objects using infrared (IR) radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 microm ...

in France, then studied the radiation of the planets in this

wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

domain. He later became head of the Department of

spherical astronomy Spherical astronomy, or positional astronomy, is a branch of observational astronomy used to locate astronomical objects on the celestial sphere, as seen at a particular date, time, and location on Earth. It relies on the mathematical methods of ...

at Paris Observatory. He has regularly taught the

MAS Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Music Albums * ''Más'' (album), ...

celestial mechanics Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...

at the Observatory, a higher education institution which is authorized to issue

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

s. He left the Observatory in 1976, he devoted half of his activity to the history of

ancient astronomy The history of astronomy focuses on the contributions civilizations have made to further their understanding of the universe beyond earth's atmosphere. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences, achieving a high level of success in the sec ...

with the multidisciplinary team he had assembled at the Observatory, to translate

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

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astronomical texts. In the field of

history of astronomy The history of astronomy focuses on the contributions civilizations have made to further their understanding of the universe beyond earth's atmosphere. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences, achieving a high level of success in the sec ...

, in addition to scholarly works, he has authored many books for general public, especially for youth. He was a member of

Pierre Marchand Pierre Marchand (born 1958) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer. Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since '' Solace'' in 1991. He also co-wrote several of M ...

’s team that helped to create

Gallimard Jeunesse Gallimard Jeunesse is a French publisher of children's books. It is a subsidiary of Éditions Gallimard. It is the publisher of the French versions of ''Harry Potter'' by J.K. Rowling, the catalogue of Roald Dahl, ''The Little Prince'' by Anto ...

. He wrote (1987), a heavily illustrated pocket book for Gallimard’s encyclopaedic

collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...

" Découvertes", which has been translated into fourteen languages, including English. He has published more than 30 books at Gallimard. In 1991, he collaborated in the astronomical organisation , with Daniel Kunth and

Hubert Reeves Hubert Reeves (July 13, 1932 – October 13, 2023) was a Canadian astrophysicist and popularizer of science. Early life and education Reeves was born in Montreal on July 13, 1932, and as a child lived in Léry. Reeves attended Collège Jean- ...

on a TV show at

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

. The show lasted 4 hours. In 2016, the Budget Prize of

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

was awarded to Michel-Pierre Lerner, and Jean-Pierre Verdet for their 3-volume critical works of

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

’ ''

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book ...

''. For this same publication, which is the first critical work of ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' translated into French with commentaries, the Alexandre

Koyré Medal The International Academy of the History of Science () is a membership organization for historians of science. The Academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E. Sigeri ...

2015 of the

International Academy of the History of Science The International Academy of the History of Science () is a membership organization for historians of science. The Academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E. Sig ...

was awarded to this team work.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Air Around Us'', Moonlight Publishing, 1986 * ''Le ciel, ordre et désordre'', collection «

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

» (nº 26), série Sciences et techniques. Éditions Gallimard, 1987, new edition in 2001 ** UK edition – ''The Sky: Order and Chaos'', ‘

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

’ series. Thames & Hudson, 1992 ** US edition – ''The Sky: Mystery, Magic, and Myth'', "

Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places United States * Abrams, Wisconsin, a town * Abrams (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Abrams Mountain, Colorado * Abr ...

" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1992 * ''The Earth and Sky'', Scholastic, 1992 * ''Earth, Sky and Beyond: A Journey Through Space'', Dutton Juvenile, 1995 * ''Penser l’univers'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard Texto » (nº 2). Éditions Gallimard, 1998 ;Collective work *

, translated by J-P Verdet and others, ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium / Des révolutions des orbes célestes'', Les Belles Lettres, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdet, Jean-Pierre 1932 births 20th-century French astronomers Historians of astronomy French non-fiction writers Living people