Lucien d'Azambuja (1884-1970), seen here on the left, with Deslandres, was an eminent French solar astronomer during the first half of this century. His remarkable 60 year career bridged the period from the classical work of Janssen and Deslandres to the birth of solar radio and space age astronomy. He began as a 15-yr old assistant at Meudon Observatory in 1899 and retired as head of the Observatory in 1959. From 1932-1958, he chaired the International Astronomical Union's Commission 11 on Chromospheric Phenomena. He stressed the need for regular worldwide observations of the Sun and was instrumental in the development of the IAU's Quarterly Bulletin on Solar Activity. From 1949-1951, he served as the President of the Astronomical Society of France.

Dr. d'Azambuja was an expert on solar prominences. He helped to perfect the spectroheliograph of Hale and Deslandres. Using this instrument, he was one of the first to investigate the relationship between prominences at the solar limb and filaments on the disk. His 1948 treatise, coauthored with his wife Marguerite and entitled "Étude d'Ensemble des Protubérances Solaires et de leur Évolution", remains a standard reference on the solar cycle behavior of prominences.

Lucien d'Azambuja was a modest and unfailingly courteous man who, by his meticulous research and forward-thinking community service, paved the way for much of the modern study of solar prominences. It is fitting that this Colloquium, held in France and sponsored by the Meudon Observatory and the IAU, be dedicated to him.

To read more details on Lucien d'Azambuja and the history of solar prominences at Meudon, click to read in French or in English.

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