Jean-Henri Focas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 20 July 1909 Corfu, Greece |
| Died | 3 January 1969 (aged 59) |
| Nationality | Greek, French |
| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Known for | Focas (lunar crater) |
| Children | Errikos Fokas |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy Physics Celestial Cartography |
| Institutions | National Observatory of Athens Pic du Midi Meudon Great Refractor |
| Doctoral advisors | Audouin Dollfus André-Louis Danjon |
Jean-Henri Focas (Greek: Ιωάννης Ε. Φωκάς; 20 July 1909 – 3 January 1969) was a Greek-French astronomer, painter, designer, illustrator, astrophysicists, photographer, and celestial cartographer who spoke five languages. He performed visual studies of planetary surfaces from the National Observatory of Athens, Pic du Midi, and Meudon Great Refractor. Jean is responsible for creating the most highly visual map of Mars ever created by a visual observer of the planet.[1] He developed special photographic equipment to photograph celestial phenomena. In 1961, he published Étude Photométrique et Polarimétrique des Phénomènes Saisonniers de la Planéte Mar (Photometric and Polarimetric Study of the Seasonal Phenomena of the Planet Mars) which became a classic on the subject of polarimetric investigation of Mars. A crater on the Moon and a crater on Mars were named after him because of his contribution to the field.[2][3][4]
Jean was born on the Greek island of Corfu. When he was in high school he would frequently visit a small astronomical station on Kogevina hill in Corfu built by lunar photographer Félix Chemla Lamèch. Félix was impressed by Jean's artistic abilities and Jean became his apprentice and began to learn about the field of astronomy firsthand. Félix taught him how to make complex astronomical observations. Jean's impressive abilities garnered the attention of Greek astronomer Stavros Plakidis who recommended the young astronomer to the head of the National Observatory of Athens Demetrios Eginitis. Fokas became an assistant at the observatory around 1931. He began writing papers that were published internationally. World War II took a harsh toll on Greek astronomical research during the early 1940s. By the 1950s, Jean traveled back and forth to France. By the age of 45, he had become known within the international astronomical community.[5][3]
While he was at the Pic du Midi he performed a photometric study from 663 negatives that he contributed to collecting himself which he used to determine 7200 different regions of the surfaces of different astronomical phenomena namely planets and moons. He was a member of the Société astronomique de France, French Academy of Sciences, and the International Astronomical Union and an advocate of the international collaboration of astronomy. He died prematurely of a heart attack while he was visiting Athens, Greece at 59 years old.[6][3][7][8]
- ^ Sheehan & Bell 2021, pp. 147.
- ^ Dollfus 1970, pp. 217–219.
- ^ a b c Krikkis 2002.
- ^ Dollfus 2013, pp. 169, 172-173 182.
- ^ Hiufu Wong (24 March 2014). "Amazing Starry Time-lapse Video of Corfu". CNN Travel. CNN. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ Sheehan & Westfall 2014, p. 222.
- ^ Blunck 1977, pp. 45, 198.
- ^ Staff Writers (19 April 2023). "List of Some Articles Authored by Jean-Henri Focas on ADS". Astrophysics Data System. The SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System. Retrieved 19 April 2023.