Obituary: Jean-Louis Leroy

Jean-Louis Leroy, who was an astronomer at Pic-du-Midi, passed away on last Friday July 11, after a long and terrible illness. He was specialized in solar observations and polarimetry. In particular, he observed solar prominences for their magnetic field measurement during the ascending phase of Solar Cycle 21, from 1974 to 1982. He was at the origin of my PhD subject: the Hanle effect theory in the He I D3 line of solar prominences. The main result is evidence of the “Inverse” magnetic structure of quiescent prominences, with respect to the underlying and neighbor photospheric magnetic field. He also contributed to the polarimetry development for stellar magnetic field measurements at the Pic-du-Midi. His colleagues and myself appreciated a lot to discuss with Jean-Louis. This was so helpful for us. The ceremony will take place on next Thursday July 17 at Sainte Cécile church, 44 rue de l’Est, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

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Véronique Bommier