 Have you ever seen a comet pass by? Comets are celestial objects primarily consisting of ice and dust, which often develop a bright tail when passing near the sun. They have been observed and recorded since ancient times. If you remember the occasion in which you saw the comet, the configuration of the night sky at that moment, then you must be like Jean-Louis Ponds. Despite humble beginnings and being self-taught, he went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time. Compared to a poor family in 1761, Ponds hardly had any formal education in his formative years. In fact, for the first 28 years of his life, there was little or no indiction of what Ponds was to become, the most successful discoverer of comets in the history of astronomy. The beginning of his astronomical career was humble, as he started out as a concierge slash janitor with the Marsilis Observatory in 1789. It was here that he was instructed on astronomy by the observers and directors at the establishment. After no time, Ponds had learned the art himself and was allowed to do observations with the instruments. Ponds' particular strength lied in the fact that he could remember in detail the starfields that he observed, enabling him to recognize the changes in the observed area. Coupled with excellent eyesight and the patience for practical observations, Ponds was soon on his way to greatness. On July 11th, 1801, Ponds logged his first discovery of a comet, which he had to share with Charles Messier, who found it a day later. Coincidentally, Ponds' first comet discovery turned out to be the last for Messier, himself a distinguished astronomer. Ponds was named astronomer adjoint in 1813 and became assistant director of the Marsilis Observatory in 1818. In 1818, Ponds discovered three small, tail-less comets, a feat that won him the Lallande Prize awarded by the Academy of Sciences. Ponds also suspected that one of these comets was the same as the one discovered in 1805, prompting him to suggest to Joann Franz Enke that he look into it. Enke calculated its element and found it to have a period of only 1,208 days or 3.3 years, a revelation in an age when all known comets had an orbital period of over 70 years. Based on his calculations, Enke predicted that the comet would next make its appearance in 1822. The predicted return was observable only in the southern hemisphere and was seen by Karl Rumpke in Australia. Even though Enke himself referred to the comet as Ponds' comet, it is known now as Enke's comet. The Astronomical Society in London awarded Enke with a gold medal in that year, while Ponds and Rumpke received silver medals. Ponds, though, received his silver medal for discovering two other comets. He won the Lallande Prize two more times in 1821 and 1827, including two prolific stretches when he found five comets in eight months between February through September 1808 and five in 12 months between August 1826 through August 1827. Ponds took the total number of comets he discovered or co-discovered in 237. He is now regarded as the greatest discoverer of comets. My name is Seth and thank you guys so much for watching. And remember, the ways by which we arrive at knowledge are hardly less wonderful than the discovery of these things themselves.