Pons Discovers First Comet: A Legacy of 36 Celestial Finds
A man who couldn't read or write discovered more comets than anyone in history. Jean-Louis Pons started as a doorkeeper at the Marseille Observatory in 1801, sweeping floors and polishing lenses. That July, he spotted his first comet. Over the next 27 years, he found 36 more—a record that still stands. No formal education. No mathematics. Just patient eyes and clear nights. And the comet that returns every 71 years? It bears his name, not the names of the astronomers who once employed him to clean their telescopes.
July 11, 1801
225 years ago
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