Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix (23 November 1718, in Toulouse – 18 January 1802, in Toulouse) was a French astronomer. He has usually been credited with the discovery of the Ring Nebula in 1779, but in fact he independently rediscovered it upon reading a report of Charles Messier regarding Messier's own observations of Comet Bode. His description that the object was "...as large as Jupiter and resembles a planet which is fading" led to the terminology "planetary nebula". [1]
- ^ Olson, Don; Caglieris, Giovanni Maria (June 2017). "Who Discovered the Ring Nebula?". Sky & Telescope. pp. 32–7.