Henri Chrétien
Encyclopedia
Henri Jacques Chrétien was a French
astronomer and an inventor.
Born in Paris
, France
, his most famous invention is the anamorphic widescreen
process, that resulted in the CinemaScope
, and the co-invention of the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
(with George Willis Ritchey
), which was an
advanced type of astronomical telescope
, now used in virtually all research telescopes.
He spent part of his early astronomical career at the Nice Observatory
, which was close to his house, the Villa Paradou. In 1995 the abandoned villa was acquired by the artist Rainer Maria Latzke
, who restored the villa and added new modern murals to the already existing frescoes.
He was one of the founders of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée and professor at the French "grande école" SupOptique (École supérieure d'optique
).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
astronomer and an inventor.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, his most famous invention is the anamorphic widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
process, that resulted in the CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
, and the co-invention of the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
(with George Willis Ritchey
George Willis Ritchey
George Willis Ritchey was an American optician and telescope maker and astronomer born at Tuppers Plains, Ohio....
), which was an
advanced type of astronomical telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
, now used in virtually all research telescopes.
He spent part of his early astronomical career at the Nice Observatory
Nice Observatory
The Observatoire de Nice is an astronomical observatory located in Nice, France on the summit of Mont Gros. The observatory was initiated in 1879 by the banker Raphaël Bischoffsheim...
, which was close to his house, the Villa Paradou. In 1995 the abandoned villa was acquired by the artist Rainer Maria Latzke
Rainer Maria Latzke
Rainer Maria Latzke is a German artist working in the field of trompe l'oeil and mural painting. He teaches at the Utah State University and is Founder of the Institute of Frescography in Logan, Utah. He also is Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art of Fudan University and...
, who restored the villa and added new modern murals to the already existing frescoes.
He was one of the founders of the Institut d'optique théorique et appliquée and professor at the French "grande école" SupOptique (École supérieure d'optique
École supérieure d'optique
The École supérieure d'optique , nicknamed "SupOptique", is the leading French grande école in the field of optics and its industrial and scientific applications, and a member of the prestigious UniverSud Paris and ParisTech...
).
Awards and honors
- The astronomical Chrétien International Research Grants awards are in honor of him
- The crater ChrétienChrétien (crater)Chrétien is a lunar crater that is located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon from the Earth. It lies due south of the Mare Ingenii, one of the few maria on the Moon's far side...
on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is named in his honor. - In 1954, he received an Academy Award for his work on the CinemaScope process.
Publications
- http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-abs_connect?db_key=AST&db_key=PHY&db_key=PRE&qform=PHY&arxiv_sel=astro-ph&arxiv_sel=cond-mat&arxiv_sel=cs&arxiv_sel=gr-qc&arxiv_sel=hep-ex&arxiv_sel=hep-lat&arxiv_sel=hep-ph&arxiv_sel=hep-th&arxiv_sel=math&arxiv_sel=math-ph&arxiv_sel=nlin&arxiv_sel=nucl-ex&arxiv_sel=nucl-th&arxiv_sel=physics&arxiv_sel=quant-ph&arxiv_sel=q-bio&aut_logic=OR&author=Chretien%2C+H.&ned_query=YES&sim_query=YES&start_mon=&start_year=&end_mon=&end_year=&ttl_logic=OR&title=&txt_logic=OR&text=&nr_to_return=200&start_nr=1&jou_pick=ALL&ref_stems=&data_and=ALL&group_and=ALL&start_entry_day=&start_entry_mon=&start_entry_year=&end_entry_day=&end_entry_mon=&end_entry_year=&min_score=&sort=SCORE&data_type=SHORT&aut_syn=YES&ttl_syn=YES&txt_syn=YES&aut_wt=1.0&ttl_wt=0.3&txt_wt=3.0&aut_wgt=YES&obj_wgt=YES&ttl_wgt=YES&txt_wgt=YES&ttl_sco=YES&txt_sco=YES&version=1ADS NASA]
- Library of Congress
- Library of Congress