French astrophysicist Andre Brahic, one of the discoverers of Neptune’s rings, has passed away in Paris on Sunday at the age of 73. An expert on the solar system, Brahic with US astronomer William Hubbard, first spotted the rings around the gaseous planet Neptune in 1984.
Remembering Brahic, French President Francois Hollande said that the man had an innate ability to “easily explain the mysteries of space.” He described him as a great teacher whose explanations and books allowed people to get a core view of space. Brahic’s publisher and friend Odile Jacob said, “He was a brilliant character: extraordinarily warm, profound and authentic, a great scholar and also a storyteller, a writer.”
Brahic was seen as a key figure in increasing public awareness of research into space. He once said science “could make the eyes of small children light up.” His desire and curiosity to search out for rings of Saturn led to the discovery of Neptune rings.
Mr. Andre was also a member of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and a professor at the University of Paris. In the 1980s, Brahic became a specialist in exploring our solar system with the help of the NASA Voyager and later US-Europe Cassini unmanned missions, which continue to this day.
Keen on bringing astrophysics to a wider public, Brahic wrote several books. Brahic’s last book “Worlds Elsewhere; Are We Alone” was published last year by Odile Jacob. In 1990, an asteroid numbered 3488 was named Brahic in tribute to his work. Described as a dreamer, Brahic once said he was hoping to lauch a space probe by the year 2057, to see Neptune’s rings in time for his 115th birthday.