André-Louis Danjon

André-Louis Danjon
Born(1890-04-06)6 April 1890
Died21 April 1967(1967-04-21) (aged 77)
NationalityFrench
Known forDanjon scale
AwardsGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1958
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy
Doctoral advisorErnest Esclangon

André-Louis Danjon (French: [ɑ̃dʁelwi dɑ̃ʒɔ̃]; 6 April 1890 21 April 1967) was a French astronomer who served as director of the Observatory of Strasbourg from 1930 to 1945 and of the Paris Observatory from 1945 to 1963. He developed several astronomical instruments to examine the regularity of the rotation of the earth and among his discoveries was an acceleration of the rotation of the Earth during periods of intense solar activity occurring in 11-year cycles correlated with an increase in earthquakes. The Danjon scale is used for measuring the intensity of lunar eclipses. He noted an increase in the number of dark lunar eclipses with solar activity which is termed as the Danjon effect.