| 676 Melitta | 16 January 1909 | MPC |
Philibert Jacques Melotte (29 January 1880 – 30 March 1961) was a Britishastronomer.
Melotte was born inCamden Town, North London to Belgian parents who emigrated fromNamur. His father was a lecturer. Melotte attended theRoan School in Greenwich. He entered the Royal Observatory in 1895 and passed his examination in 1902.[2][3]
In 1908 he discovered amoon ofJupiter, today known asPasiphaë. It was simply designated "Jupiter VIII" and was not given its present name until 1975. The outer main-belt asteroid676 Melitta, the only asteroid he discovered,[1] is named after theAttic form of theGreekMelissa, the bee, but its resemblance to the discoverer's name is not fortuitous.[4]
The conspicuousstar cluster in theComa Berenicesconstellation is commonly designatedMel 111 since it appeared inMelotte's 1915 catalogue ofstar clusters,[5] but not inCharles Messier's famouscatalogue ofdeep sky objects or in theNew General Catalogue since it was not proved to be a true cluster until 1938 by the astronomerR J Trumpler.[6]
Melotte was awarded theJackson-Gwilt Medal of theRoyal Astronomical Society in 1909. A collection of his papers is held atCambridge University Library.
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