Audouin Dollfus

Audouin Dollfus (born November 12, 1924, Paris, France—died October 1, 2010, Versailles) was a French astronomer, successor to Bernard Lyot as the principal French authority on the solar system.

Dollfus made several balloon flights for high-altitude observations, including the first stratospheric ascension in France. On the basis of comparative light-polarizing qualities, he concluded that the surface material of Mars consists of pulverized limonite (an iron oxide, Fe₂O₃) and prepared a map of Venus showing what he believed to be permanent features. On December 15, 1966, he discovered Saturn’s 10th known satellite, Janus.