Background
He was born in Nîmes and trained as an engineer He was the grandson of the doctor, meteorologist and naturalist Pierre Baux (1708–1790).
He was born in Nîmes and trained as an engineer He was the grandson of the doctor, meteorologist and naturalist Pierre Baux (1708–1790).
He became interested in astronomy and comets in particular, observing the return of what would later be named Comet Encke. In 1835 he hypothesized that irregularities in Comet Halley"s orbit could be explained by an unknown planet beyond Uranus — at the time, Neptune was not yet discovered. He built a private observatory at his home and when he left in 1836 to take up a post as director of the Marseille Observatory, he left his home to a young man named "A. Laurent", who used the observatory to discover the asteroid 51 Nemausa.
The house, at 32 rue Nationale in Nîmes, has a plaque commemorating the discovery.
The Valz Prize (Prix Valz) was awarded for work of similar stature as that honored by the pre-existing Lalande Prize. The Valz Prize was given out from 1877 through 1970.
Académie de Nîmes.