André Brahic, French astrophysicist, Died at 73

  Reseacher

André Fernand Brahic was born on November 30, 1942, in Paris and died on May 15, 2016.

He was a French astrophysicist.

Brahic was known for his discovery of the rings of Neptune, one of which is discontinuous and whose segments he named Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity), the national motto of France.

Andre was a member of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission and a professor at the University of Paris.

He was also on the imaging team for the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft.

The asteroid 3488 was named in his honor, in 1990.

During 2001, Brahic was awarded the Carl Sagan Medal.

Brahic family originally came from the coal mining village of Petit-Brahic in the Banne commune of southern France.

Andre had stated that many of his ancestors died of silicosis, but his father quit the mines to work for the railway industry.

He died of cancer in Paris.

André Fernand Brahic passed away at 73 yrs old.